Project Don't Go Grocery Shopping: Day 1

We are about a month out from the end of the semester (somehow 2 cases, 5 projects, 3 finals, a dance performance and myriad other small tasks are supposed to be completed in that time! awwwwesome.). We are both leaving for the summer (hopefully--please someone let me be your intern!) and our fridge, pantry, and freezer are VERY full.

So today we are embarking on a journey in which we only go to the grocery store for daily-needs items like milk, juice, bread, lunch meat and cereal. All other meals will have to be made creatively and/or with us both eating separate Lean Cuisine meals that I bought before I remembered that there are two people in this mini household-within-a-household so making frozen meals for one make no sense.

Yesterday I will consider day 1, and it was a very good success. We had a Chicken, Apple, Cheddar Spinach Salad.

Cooked up a frozen chicken breast on the stove, sliced some apples and cheese (Raw Cheddar from Trader Joe's which is PHENOMENAL) and tossed it all with some spinach and dressing.

Now, about the dressing:

Ladies and gentlemen, we have all been collectively duped by the people at Newman's Own. You should never buy salad dressing! My mom taught me this, and its maybe the most valuable thing I have learned from her (Just kidding, mom! You taught me many many important things!). It is SO EASY TO MAKE. You take some olive oil (just like a teaspoon), put in an equivalent amount of citrus juice (lemon, orange, whatever), add some dijon mustard (trust me), some garlic if you want, and whisk with a fork. Done! Also, it tastes delicious and with only teeny amounts of each ingredient (read: cheap) you have a fully dressed salad. You can adjust the ingredients as desired, depending on your salad ingredients, so long as you always have the olive oil and the citrus. Takes a bit of finagling and tasting and trial and error but ugh, it's so good, I don't know why anyone ever uses anything else.

Tonight: Pancakes and eggs. I doubt it will require as much explanation :)