I spend too much on groceries...

Hi! My name is Jessica and I spend way too much on groceries!

Seriously how is it possible that I spend over $300 on groceries a month for two people? Yes the boyfriend does eat like a teenage boy in a growth spurt but this is still ridiculous. Even with spending that much on groceries we still eat out at least twice a week.

I did venture into crazy coupon territory for awhile and I am slowly slipping back in there... I may or may not have spent an hour inputting all of my coupons with description, value, quantity, type, and expiration dates into an excel spreadsheet this morning. It's just such a hassle to think I have a coupon for something and sit there in the middle of the aisle while I search for it in my handy dandy coupon organizer! Yes I'm one of those...one step below the binder.

I like to keep it real...I'm writing this post at my desk and needed a picture, Instagram to the rescue!

I started meal planning about 5 months ago and it helped tremendously with staying on track! But I fell out of my groove. It's really hard to plan meals all the time. I didn't really grasp the whole put them on a cycle thing. I was always looking for some new recipe. Especially since the boyfriend absolutely refuses to eat leftovers unless they're the ones that are hiding in the back of the fridge and I can't remember when I made it... it has happened.

So I will not become the crazy people who buy 35 bottles of mustard or have 400 rolls of toilet paper stashed under their kid's bed. But I am going to make more of an effort to use coupons and meal plan. Hopefully find coupons for the things I need for my meal planning.

I'm not over exaggerating am I? How much does a couple usually spend on groceries? Keep in mind this does not include food for our 3 dogs.

Oven Baked Salmon...and my newest favorite appliance.

It's another Monday here at One Crafty Cupcake! Last week the boyfriend watched the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, and now he's convinced that he's gonna die. Well maybe not that extreme. But he did go out and buy a juicer and is now drinking his daily dose of vegetables. I've been loving having the juicer. Fresh apple juice tastes so much better than what comes in the bottle. The only problem? The juicer is a (insert your chosen expletive here) to clean. I'm even considering doing a 3 day juice cleanse but haven't found the motivation yet.

But we are eating healthier here at the OCC household. Last night, we had oven baked salmon and sauteed zucchini and squash. 

I cook salmon the same way every time and it always comes out perfect. Moist and flaky. First I drizzle it with olive oil, then season with salt & pepper. I slice lemons and place them on top to infuse the lemon flavor while cooking. To cook it I place the salmon in a cold oven set for 400 degrees for 25 minutes. I suggest using foil over the pan for super easy clean up. Also if you really enjoy lemon on your fish, squeeze half a lemon over the top after cooking.

For the zucchini and squash I just salt/pepper it and saute it in olive oil for a few minutes.

The final product!

Yum yum yum

Did you know you're supposed to use white dishes to really show off the food? It allows you to focus on all the different colors. But here in the southwest white doesn't really fit in with the color scheme. I still think it looks pretty good. 

Be back tomorrow with the 10 Day You Challenge!

I'm linking this post up to 33 Shades of Green

Jambalaya! Or something close to it...

So this week I'm trying to cook better meals. More vegetables less processed food. I always try to meal plan and usually stick some comfort food in there a couple times. But this week it was all about fresh ingredients!

Yesterday was Jambalaya day! I got a paleo recipe off of pinterest and was going to use that but instead ended up doing my own thing.

Good thing it was pretty good. Next time I would add chicken or maybe shrimp (unfortunately the bf doesn't like seafood).

I made it in the crockpot so I kind of just threw mostly everything together and let it cook all day.

Crockpot Jambalaya

4 cups of chicken broth/stock
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
4 peppers of any color, diced
1 onion, diced
2 Tbsp Louisana hot sauce
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning
14 oz smoked sausage

Put everything except the sausage in the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. About 30 minutes to an hour before it's done add the sausage. I then cooked my rice separately and just mixed it in with everything when I was ready to serve.

I loved how pretty all my peppers looked

I had barely started adding the rice at this point...it smelled amazing

All done...it was a little soupy but the rice absorbed the excess.

The boyfriend really liked it and he is a SUPER picky eater so it's a winner for now! But like I said next time I'll either double the sausage or add chicken.