Cooking For One Update

Well, turns out, I am capable of more than I tend to actually do.  Because this week has been a doozy!  I may finally admit how lazy I've been for the past year, because just the day to day stuff has me exhausted every night!

Monday I actually got up early, and in an effort to kill time I went ahead and may the pie crust, fried the bacon, chopped the onions and grated the cheese for the quiche.  I then called my maman because I realized the ridiculousness of the day.... it was only noon.  Humpf!  So I made banana bread too.

Tuesday I had to move the car whoa early so decided to go grab coffee at Starbucks and do my grocery shopping.  I ended up eating sushi out as a pick me up, since I still had groceries to get to and was starving.  Then I hit up the wine store to pick up a cheap bottle of a dry white wine (for the French onion soup) and some small portions of cheese as treats through out the week.  I also grabbed the bottle of bubbly for later in the week.  I made the French onion soup, and it was delicious.  I ate it with a first course salad that consisted of arugula, crumbled bacon, half a tomato and some sauteed mushrooms.

Wednesday I had quiche for lunch with a salad and stuck to the soup and salad for dinner.  I was lucky on Wednesday night to get to have a long phone call with my best friend back home, which I needed midway through this first week.

Thursday I was just sorts sad.  I stayed in pjs, put on red lipstick and lay about all day.  So I had quiche for breakfast, finished by sushi for lunch and soup for dinner.  (I think that's right, some of these days run together!)

Friday I got up and had coffee out for breakfast.  Followed by a lunch at Nordstrom's cafe which fortified me before I went out and bought the most delightful pair of lace d'orsay heels that fit into my planned purchases and also will make G think "va-va-voom" when he returns!  Dinner was a small bowl of french onion soup, followed by champagne chicken with mushrooms, roasted potatoes, and roasted asparagus. 

Saturday morning I wanted badly to sleep in, but in maintaining my schedule I chose to get up and make the orange zest french toast.  I topped it with a banana and a 1/2 cup of blueberries and maple syrup, and enjoyed with a mimosa made with freshly squeezed orange juice and the bubbly from Friday night's dinner.  Delicious!  And I made 16 pieces.  I was only going to eat a couple but I listened to my body, and was still hungry so I ate 4 (these are small baguette sized pieces).  That still left me with 12 other pieces, enough for 4-6 breakfasts, and I plan to freeze a few for later.  Lunch and dinner were leftover champagne chicken.

And then today I got up and had a couple pieces of french toast, plain (I'm out of maple syrup).  Then it was relaxing a bit before my massage (which was lovely), and having the last of the champagne chicken for lunch.  Afterwards I headed out to meet up with some girlfriends for a girls afternoon of coffee and dinner.  So, no roasted chicken for dinner, but it was worth it, and I have half my portobello sandwich leftover for a meal tomorrow. 

I am getting up in the a.m. to make cinnamon rolls from scratch.  I figure some of them can be frozen, but I'm bringing a few over to my girlfriend's house to have coffee tomorrow afternoon.  I haven't made these since England, so I'm a little excited.

I think I did pretty well with getting up and taking care of myself this week.  I haven't snacked much, other than my usual pieces of fruit each day.  I did make homemade (on the stove) popcorn last night to watch a couple movies.  But overall I've stuck to my plan.

I do want to share that for my champagne chicken, though it sounds fancy, for 4 meals I used 2 organic free-range chicken breasts (each cut in half because I felt they were fairly large, though the smallest at the store), less than a package of mushrooms, one small bag of tiny potatoes, and one bundle of asparagus.  If I had to guesstimate I would say that the whole thing cost me around $10 for 4 meals! (not counting my $11 dollar bottle of prosecco that I still have enough for a couple glasses of.)  For a meal that would have cost a lot more in a restaurant and felt like I was still eating well, it was super cheap. 

I think you can eat very well, gourmet even, on a small budget for one person.  I am looking forward to showing you that over this time G is gone.  So be prepared to be wowed!  I still have broccoli and beets waiting in the fridge for a roasted chicken tomorrow, 10 pieces of french toast and half of a quiche!