What we eat, Part 3

When it comes to fixing dinner for my family, I must confess I have always struggled to meal plan. I firmly believe in the benefits of meal planning, but for some reason often lack the ability to make it happen.  This was true when we lived in the States, but it became even more of a struggle once we got over here, after living out of our car for 4 months before we arrived and then having to figure out where to even buy food after we got here! After several crying sessions this summer that mostly centered on the question, "What is for dinner?", it became very apparent to me that meal planning was a discipline I simply had to develop for the sake of my own sanity. One of the graces I've experienced in getting back into a routine this fall has been success in this area...totally a mercy from God.

That said, here are some of the main dishes that regularly make their way onto our dinner table.  And once again, I must give credit where credit is due and say that I would be absolutely lost if it were not for this awesome blog. 

• Quiche:  eggs and spinach are readily available in the market and I make pie crust from Crisco that wonderful people have sent us from the States...although I just learned that I can buy Crisco from a website over here and also at a new grocery store I discovered that is close to my Chinese class.  Still more expensive than it would be in the States, but at least it's here if I need it!)
• Chicken fingers: back in the 'Ville we discovered an amazing recipe for fried chicken that we have successfully been able to recreate here.  The recipe had nothing to do with the fact that we were living in the Land of the Colonel but came mostly from the recipe in this cookbook which I got as a wedding gift.
• Chicken pot pie: a perennial favorite of Katie's, and again, except for the Crisco I use for the crust, I can find all the ingredients at our little market (except for butter too, which I buy at the restaurant wholesale market and freeze until I need it).
• Spaghetti: thankfully Italian pastas are available for a reasonable price at the Wal-mart and spaghetti sauce can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be.  We are so thankful for the parmesan cheese that was recently sent our way (although it is available at import stores here...at a price.)
• Pizza: just as in the States, pizza (in some form) makes its way onto our table about once a week.  I am regularly thankful for the restaurant wholesale market near our house that seels 5kg blocks of mozzarella that we shred and freeze in 2 cup portions. Pepperoni (everyone's favorite topping, right?) us virtually impossible to find here, but we have had some very faithful friends send us some from the States!

Some other recent big hits (at least for Adam and me) have been this Asian Lettuce Wrap (the peanut dressing is amazing), Chicken Flautas (using restaurant wholesale market cream cheese and homemade salsa), and salads in tortilla bowls (which make you feel like you are eating out at one of your favorite Tex-Mex chains).  As the weather has recently started to turn cooler, I've tried my hand at a soup or two every week, made all the more exciting by homemade bread bowls! 

That gives you a general idea of what we eat. About once every 1-2 weeks, cooking feels a little overwhelming and so we just order Chinese and occasionally McDonald's (by the way, they deliver McD's here!  Is that awesome or what?)