Just before doing my grocery shopping, I hit up Barnes + Nobles. This is normally a lovely afternoon splendor of Starbucks coffee sipping and magazine browsing. However, since I'm in the first week of Eat in Month, I had to skip the coffee. As if!
If I had thought it through better, I may have brought a thermos of hot tea with me to sip on whilst magazine browsing. Alas, I didn't, so I just made a quick trip of it, only browsing a couple mags and heading to the Gardening section for one book in particular.
That's right! I got All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I can't wait to start reading and planning my future herb + veggie garden. Something tells me I need to start on the prep work soon!
I also picked up this Best of Better Homes and Gardens 100 decorating ideas - Big Style for small rooms. I loved almost every room and set up in this book! I thought I may be able to remember the ideas without having to buy the magazine, but I've decided to keep it for reference. Can I use dark curtain rods if the decor in the room is overall light? I dunno...but let's consult one of my mags to see what they did. I like to have concrete examples whilst brainstorming room decorations.
Normally, I would have picked up a soup at Earthfare whilst grocery shopping, but thanks to Eat in Month, I headed home for something more cost-effective.
Lunch was again kind of weak, but after my big breakfast earlier, I really wasn't that hungry and didn't want to spoil my appetite for dinner (had something special planned).
Great Harvest Flax Oat Bran toast with Barney Butter and chia seeds. I also had a couple apple wedges but put most back in the fridge since I was still feeling the sweetness from breakfast.
Post lunch, I had blogging and errands to do. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner!
Since I had mascarpone on hand, I decided to try out a recipe I've been wanting to do for awhile - Giada's Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce.
I don't know why I've waited so long to make this. I guess buying all the ingredients seemed on the expensive side - mascarpone and marsala. I guess I just think mascarpone is expensive, but it wasn't too bad this time since I used it for two recipes. It was worth it! Both this one and that one were fab!
I used the rest of the fresh pasta from yesterday (I stored the 1/2 lb uncooked in the fridge till today) and also served dinner with steamed broccoli with a drizzle of real butter. I left the butter off the pasta as recommended in the original recipe. I decided the sauce would have enough flavor.
So yum! I think I am in love with all marsala-wine-based pasta dishes.
For dessert, I re-heated a tiny piece of leftover Cinnamon Chip French Toast Casserole and added a wee bit of maple syrup and a couple mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. As small as this was, I didn't quite finish it. I was pretty full from dinner!
After my lovely staycation, it's back to work for me tomorrow! Any one else headed to work after vacay?
PS I'm not looking forward to giving up my Starbucks Mondays or Bagel Day Fridays, but...in the name of Eat in Month, I'll do it! I'm only missing out on 4 coffees and 5 bagels. I will save roughly $30-40! Yay!
WOW girl your lunch looks great! you are cookin up some GOOD lookin thangs!
i LOVE french toast casserole.. my fav
Posted by: katie | January 04, 2010 at 01:02 AM
nice job resisting the coffee! i myself decided i could use my starbucks giftcard for a tea while getting blog writing done today. i decided since i didnt pay cash, it was a-okay, but i still may use today as my free day and try to power through the rest. we will see.
Posted by: Heather | January 04, 2010 at 02:11 AM
Awesome job not getting Starbucks! My husband and I figured out that we'll be saving roughly $90 per week by not eating out. We usually eat out Friday nights and Saturday for lunch (sometimes dinner, which would bring the total to more than $90.) Crazy!! He totally wanted Starbucks yesterday, but knew he'd be losing the challenge, so he held out until we got home. :)
Oh, and I'm also back at work today following a week of vacation. It hurts to be back on this cold, cold Monday morning.
Posted by: Jaime | January 04, 2010 at 09:06 AM
That pasta looks amazing, I am going to have to try making that! I also agree that the mascarpone and marsala do seem expensive, but it is nice to slurge every once in awhile. Thanks for the idea!
Posted by: Heather (The Single Dish) | January 04, 2010 at 11:47 AM
wow, i love it..=)
Posted by: depression medication | January 04, 2010 at 02:12 PM
I admire your no-starbucks resolve! My efforts were to take my own mug, use a voucher and my loyalty card which almost cut the cost in half... :)
Posted by: Emily | January 04, 2010 at 03:03 PM
Dinner looks fab!
Posted by: Jenna | January 04, 2010 at 03:34 PM
Funny.. I missed Starbucks today too! It wasn't until today that I realized I couldn't have my Starbucks. Oh well, money saved and a few calories!!
Posted by: Kansasamy | January 04, 2010 at 03:52 PM
I'm so jealous of all your good cookin! I don't drink coffee but I have a huge weakness for soda. At more than a dollar out of the machine, I would save a lot by drinking water or tea.
Posted by: jessica | January 04, 2010 at 05:29 PM
Its amazing how much $$ you can save giving up Starbucks! Luckily, most of my family and friends (ok ALL of my family and friends) know how much I love it and get me gift cards often ;). I was at B&N today too. Love that place. I could be in there for hours. That bread with the nut butter looks so good. I have to give chia seeds a try!
Posted by: Erica | January 04, 2010 at 07:35 PM
I love decorating mags, always get my creative side rolling.
Posted by: Nicci@NiftyEats | January 05, 2010 at 11:50 AM
that sure does look amazing and creamy! I'll have to try that one for sure mmm
Posted by: EatingRD | January 05, 2010 at 12:30 PM
eat in month is a challenge that would be so easy in our parts. we eat in all the time. eating out is a treat (saving pennies)
you photos are always so beautiful and anything Giada makes is a hit in my book. I have marsala AND mascarpone (sp) cheese at home! Hmmmm
xo
Posted by: Cindy | January 05, 2010 at 12:36 PM
I'm so confused - Eat In Month doesn't include Starbucks? Cuz if so, I've failed - MISERABLY. However, I do budget for it and have resisted any Starbucks treats, even when I was running crazy late (thankfully had a granola bar in the bag. Phew!)
As for EIM, girl I'm so ready to cave - I've been setting up the new laptop for now 10 hours and oh my heavens, I might just use my "free pass" tonight for some chinese food (and if there are leftovers, that counts as part of "Eat In Month", right?) ;) The thought of starting to cook anything at 8pm has me going "Oh HECK NO!" *sigh* However, my wallet is feeling the effect of the challenge - in a good way. :)
Posted by: Lys | January 08, 2010 at 07:58 PM