Menu Monday: 87 Cents A Pound!!!

I have a lot of chicken at my house this week. If you did not get yours, run to Albertson's today because it's the last day for the sale (they also have a deal where you can get Quaker cereal and granola bars for a buck a box if you buy 5 which is no sweat at our house). It's with the skin and bone but I just cut the breast meat out and boil the bones for soup.
(PLEASE NOTE: If you commonly read in google reader, it will not show changes made to a post by the administrator. Many times I come back and add or fix things on here so you may want to click to the actual blog. I'm bad at that)
So, my brain has been on chicken.


I have two dishes to share with you today. A while back we had the one pictured below. It was easy and refreshingly different than our normal fare.

Italian Chicken Cacciatore

3 Chicken boneless, skinless breasts cut in half lengthwise to thin (or beat the tar out of a whole one if you like)

1 can Italian stewed tomatoes (or regular and add your teaspoon of Italian seasoning and some garlic powder which I'd add anyway)

1 pkg sliced mushrooms (Italian ones are better)

1/2 cup halved kamalata olives

1/2 white or red onion sliced

2 cloves garlic crushed or chopped

2 Tbs. Capers (optional)

2 Tbs. or a big splash of cooking Sherry or a dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley to top

EVOO

In a nonstick pan coat with EVOO for one min and put in chicken. Cook about 5 minutes on each side or longer depending on thickness. Remove meat. Add remaining ingredients to pan except parsley and let come to a good simmer. Do not cover. (If you feel this is a little dry for your taste, add 1/2 to 1 cup chicken stock but you will really want to simmer it down or you will have soup) Simmer on low until veggies are tender. Season to taste. Return meat to mixture to rewarm.

Serve over brown or white rice or even a favorite pasta. Top with fresh parsley.

This week we will be doing this recipe however which I don't have a picture for. It is way too easy and gets way too much undeserving praise at the dinner table. You just need to pick up one of these at your Costco or a smaller version at your supermarket. McCormick's Grill Mates: Montreal Chicken.

Again, I take about 3 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)and half them lengthwise (this just discourages waste in our family and helps us milk out our meat into more appropriate portions...it also allows more flavor with a thinner meat).

I just dust them top and bottom with this puppy right here above. I put them in my cast iron skillet with olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Roast them at 400* for about a half an hour turning them once.

I serve this simply with roasted red potatoes (cut in wedges, add onion and red pepper if I have it) that cook right in there with the meat, and cool tossed salad.

The seasoning and the roasting make for a tender, flavored and juicy chicken dish, and it's so simple.

Oh, and don't forget to make a great pot of sun tea!

Thankful Thursday + Help Me Out Here!

I've not done one in a while so I think it's time!

• I'm thankful Rick and I have made it 13 years together, and I'm thankful for him. We had a nice evening out to celebrate. I'm thankful for my friend Trish watching the kids so we could get out.
• I'm thankful my hormone symptoms are dissipating. They are not going away completely but when they come, they are not as severe as they were closer to post surgery. I am praying this means my body is slowly getting back on track. Easter Sunday was difficult and I began to have heart flutters during church so I had to go out for most of the sermon, but it's still not as bad as it has been. I mostly went out from fear of not knowing if it's going to get worse. That really is the problem right now, being that when the symptoms hit, even though they are not as bad, I have to really fight off fear of them getting worse like they have before. My prayer is that I would learn what God has for me through all of it.
• I'm thankful the kids have been home the past two weeks. Though the house is a bit more messy, we have had some fun times. I'm thankful we got to go hiking to a beautiful waterfall together and just be home together.
• I'm thankful I got to spend one of those days shopping with Princess all day. I was really not sure how it would go. Some days with tweens are just tough and I was not sure the clothing choices would go well if we disagreed. We ended up having a lovely day out together and even a little Carl's Jr. lunch. Though we were tired as could be, it was good day.
• I'm thankful for sunshine again. I know it will be triple digits before too long so I'm really trying to soak in the beauty of the warm days.

That's what is coming to mind for today.

Help me out!

I am doing somewhat of an experiment for our family. I'm having to really try to eat better with these new health issues so I've decided to try to pretty much eat from Trader Joe's. There are some things I just cannot afford there but I'm also trying to milk out the budget with legumes instead of meat all the time. They have grass fed beef there we are slowly trying but it's SO expensive! We are trying to eliminate extra hormones that may be seeping into our diet from meat and dairy.

So, I've been checking out the Trader Joe's site as well as the Cooking With Trader Joe's site but I was wondering if any of you had a few or even one good recipe that is composed of TJ's stuff.

Menu Mondays: Mexico's Gift To America- Pozole

(the above is a chicken pozole with very little meat, not how I usually make it)

We moved to this small California town nearly 5 years ago. It's heavy with Mexican culture. The majority of the kids in my children's classes are first generation. Though I have my political opinions on the massive flood of immigration into this state and how it's really bleeding us dry, there are many things I've learned about this culture from living here and having our kids in school. Many of the families we know are hard working people really doing their part to become part of the American society while still respecting their heritage. More than anything, Taco Bell becomes a cheap (literally) joke when you get to taste some of their authentic cooking.

Last year, Princess was in her first year of public school transitioned from homeshooling. She was in 5th grade and Rick and I tried to be as involved as we could. Her teacher did a few holiday occasions by having a lunch pot luck in the classroom. Since most of the families were Hispanic, the foods were as well. This was how I came to have my first bowl of Pozole. Pozole is kind of a sister to the Menudo soup but I'm not into eating tripe (in fact, I find it funny that many times cooked tripe is pictured with beer or other alcohol and yep, that's what it would take for me to eat it, way more than I'm willing to drink) so I prefer this one.

It was rustic, brothy and OH, so tasty.

(next segment is read at your own risk...)

Historically Pozole has a very pagan and disgusting origin. It was a soup made for special ceremonial occasions that took place after human sacrifices. It's 2 main ingredients were corn (more specifically hominy), which was sacred to the ancient Mexicans since they believed the gods made man out of cornmeal (sounds stupid but I'm not sure monkeys sounds any better..lol), and ....ew..cover your ears....human. Yep, from the sacrafices. Please don't let that gross you out to continue.

Once cannibalism was outlawed, pork took it's place because...well, I won't tell you why, it may just be too much. You can also use chicken or turkey. In more recent (barely) history, Pozole was mentioned by Bernardino de Sahagún, a 16th century Spanish Missionary to the Aztec people.

Ironically what started out as a special occasion dish has become the pot of soup for the everyday family. It's ingredients vary according to region. Just like grandma's chicken soup in America, everyone does it differently. I'll give you my version. Play around with some others if you like, I'm sure they are all good.

Mrs. Oz Pozole

1 Pork Shoulder or Butt

1 30 oz. can Hominy

1 Head of Cabbage

1 Large white onion

3-5 cloves fresh garlic

2-4 Limes + lime juice to taste

1 Tbs. cumin

1/2 cup red chili sauce (a spicy enchilada sauce will do)

1/2 bunch of Cilantro (if you don't like cilantro one, I feel sorry for you, but two, you can use a few small cans of green chilies)

Half a stock pot of water (I don't measure water...you'll have to eye ball that one)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pig's foot (optional)

Place pork (and pork foot should you want to use) in stock pot and cover with water till pot is at least half full. For a low fat soup, you can cook the pork till it's falling apart and refrigerate the broth. Later you can skim off the fat and continue the soup from there. Otherwise....

Remove tender pork to a large platter or bowl. Discard any bones or fat (and foot if you used it)and return meat pieces to the broth after they are separated into bite size pieces. Put on high heat and chop onion, garlic and cabbage. Add to pot followed by seasonings and red chili sauce. Drain can of hominy and add to pot. Half two limes and squeeze juice into broth (many recipes use lemon juice and serve the soup with a wedge of lime, I prefer just using lime because of it's Mexican flavor) and drop halves right into the pot for about half an hour to release lime flavor into the broth. You can skip this if it's too much for you, I came up with this myself because I love the depth of flavor it adds to the soup. Just remove the halves after they have simmered in there a while.

Cook until cabbage is tender. Chop half head of cilantro and add to soup. Taste to see if you need more lime juice (you want a bit of a tangy broth but taste to your liking) or salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls with a wedge of lime for squeezing and either corn bread or warm tortillas with butter. Pozole is great made the day ahead and then reheated. It's also great with quesadilla wedges.

Hope you enjoyed your little history lesson but try to forget it when you eat the soup. :)

I'm very exited about my next adventure. I seem to be on a soup theme without meaning to. I've been very interested about the traditional soup of Vietnam called pho (sounds like "foe"). It sounds very unique and I'm hoping to share about it next week or the week after depending on how life goes.

Menu Monday: Way Too Easy St. Patty's Day Dinner

I love holidays and many of them for food reasons, but I don't think I crave any holiday dinner like I do St. Patrick's Day fare. Turkey and sides are good but not my fav, a gorgeous ham is great but a finely cooked plate of corned beef and cabbage with a nice glass of Irish Beer is delish beyond words. The SADDEST thing ever is that some people hate it. I declare to you....if you hate it, you made it wrong! There is no way to hate this meal when it's done right. Still, it is an easy one to screw up royally and I have. I want to save you from that and take ALL the stress out of the process because I have found it one of the easiest dishes to make. WAY easier than Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.

The fact is, corned beef on it's own is easy to get wrong, and cabbage on it's own is easy to get wrong. You don't want a tough meat, and you don't want soggy cabbage. Trust me, you're kids will learn to hate this meal if it comes out that way. I found a secret that allowed perfection ever time and my kids beg for more cabbage when it's done this way! All you need are two crock pots!

Many corned beef pkgs come with oven instructions....well, ignore them. Many call for boiling the meat which just KILLS me! Do you know what happens when you boil meat? All the flavor leaves and goes out into the water and unless you plan to make St.Patty's day SOUP, this is insane. All that briny goodness is going to be put to work to make your cabbage the best you have ever had, and you don't want to waste it! Boiled cabbage is just as gross so just throw that idea out the window as far as I'm recommending. The one time I followed their advice for the oven, I had tough meat that would not cut and no one wanted. If you have done it with success, please post your comment and suggestions and I may try again someday but my method is a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" for me. Also, it is so easy it could make you cry.

I use a very large crock pot for the meat and cabbage. I'm not sure the size, but this is the one I use:

I either use one large brisket or two small ones. Just put them from the package into the crock pot in the morning (around 8 am should do). SET ASIDE the seasoning pkg for a moment though that comes with the brisket.

Take one to two cabbages depending on size (remember, they shrink so use as much as your pot will hold..sometimes I put a heavy item on my crock lid if it's a tiny bit lifted from the cabbage to squish it down until it softens and falls...but don't leave a space or it won't cook right). Wash the cabbage and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut out the core at the bottom but only the core. Now cut each half in thirds or quarter large wedges depending on the size of the head. Take a moment to sprinkle half of the seasoning pkg on the meat. Simply keep wedges whole (separating them makes them cook too soon and the pieces fall down into the broth getting ...yep..soggy) and arrange tightly on top of the meat. Sprinkle remaining seasoning pkg. Don't add salt, or pepper or anything else! NO WATER! PLEASE....NO WATER!

Put the lid on and set on high for about a half an hour if you can and then set to low. If you are leaving just set to low. Around dinner time you should have perfectly falling apart corned beef and soft but textured and VERY flavorful cabbage. More on removing and serving below.

The potatoes should be small and red ones. Wash and half only if they are a bit large. If they are small, just leave them whole. I use my regular size crock pot for this. Mine is the blue one pictured here with the crock pot lady who btw has an great website I have down in my left hand links.

(I believe the ME one I have is comparable to the large one on the right so that gives you an idea...I'm sorry I don't have measurements for you!)

Just clean the potatoes and put them in with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of parsley if you like. Put on low and they will be perfect by dinner.

The soda bread has been my only problem. Last year I made a recipe that was more of a sweet bread and although it was good, I really wanted more authentic fare this time. I will be trying the traditional southern Ireland cake version demonstrated well here. The page also has a fun history of soda bread that you can read over or share with your kids. They usually like that kind of stuff and it makes the holiday a full adventure.

Serving the corned beef and cabbage I have a particular method that gives fuller flavor to the dish. About half an hour to an hour (depending on how well cooked your cabbage is) before serving open the crock pot and switch the order of the meat and cabbage. Just take the brisket out and let the cabbage fall down in the juices. Replace the brisket on top of the cabbage and put the lid back on. Again, don't do this long if your cabbage is pretty soft all ready. When you serve place the brisket on a platter and slice into portions. You can either surround it with the cabbage wedges and drizzle with the juices, or you can serve the cabbage in a bowl (my preference) and pour a great deal of the juices over them so they stay warm and still season at the table. The potatoes are pretty easy, just take them out and serve!

Top this off with a nice Guinness for you and the hubby and enjoy! If you like you can finish off with an authentic Irish dessert (suggestionshere (that Guinness cake looks good..mmm...or here) or just some green jello or ice cream. If you can manage an Irish cream coffee, that would be a great ending as well. Of course, put on some great Celtic sounds! Pandora is great for this and you can just start with Celtic Woman to get your station going.

We always finish off St.Patrick's Day with the reading of his story and watching the Veggie Tales short on St.Patrick found on the Sumo Of the Opera DVD. It's important, just like with the real St.Nicolas, for kids to know the heart and sacrifices these men made for the love of Christ. I believe Focus On the Family may even have a radio drama for St.Patrick. I'll have to confirm that but you may want to check out their website.

I get a special treat this year because Rick is off St. Patty's day! I'm looking forward to it and I'm planing on having the girls help me with the bread so they can learn.

Menu Monday: You Share

I'm not quite on a roll yet with which cookbook to work through. My kids are off today and I won't be doing my normal SAHM thang today making menu's and cleaning the kitchen out so....I'm crying out to YOU! Yes you, the reader.

Got a favorite receipe you are going to try this week?

Leave a link to your blog in the comments or the receipe itself.

Also, Don't forget to check out Erin's Epicurean Travels for some ethic ideas.

Amy at Not My Words gave a go at the famous Beef Bourgauignon from the fab movie "Julie & Julia". She talks about her mouth watering adventure here.

Lastly, I just started following a blog from the ladies at my bible reading blog who is from Down Under and has a recipe blog. You can check her out too if you mind is on food today. Her blog is That Smells Yum (cute title). I thought it was neat that clicking over to their she was talking about the harvest from her garden about a month ago. It's funny to remember that they are ending their summer over there!

Enjoy...and share, share, share!

btw: don't you want one of those posters in YOUR kitchen, ha, I do!

Tackle It Tuesday: SAHM Gameplan

My first post for Tackle it Tuesday is just getting my week on a game plan. One of the biggest challenges of a SAHM (which right now I am not a 100% candidate for that but I only work an hour and a half a day at a daycare) is to not let your time go down the toilet. When no one is watching and no boss is checking on you, it can be so easy to procrastinate over and over. Well, at least I do. Maybe you are more of a superwoman than me.

So, I tried this out last year and it worked when I kept it. Don't be discouraged (I tell myself) when life messes it up, just get back on track. Usually I'll get it going and it will be time for a big holiday, or kids get sick, or the car breaks down and something in this is really thrown off. The important thing is doing the next thing and not giving up.

Sometimes housekeeping is simply doing the next thing. Eventually you will get a lot done. Rarely do you get it ALL done and if you think you have, don't hold your breath.

The plan is to have a ball park idea for each day of the week. Somethings however have to be done every day. I know some mom's do laundry all on one day but I cannot because the stacks that have to be put away are just to overwhelming for me. So, I do a load a day if I can.

Here is my game plan:

Daily: One load of laundry

Keep the heart of the home healthy (see below)

Monday: Kitchen/Laundry room -

(I work an extra two hours on Monday morning before starting this so Monday is a big day I have to stay on task)

Weekly-clean counters, wipe down appliances, mop, clean out bad food in the fridge, wipe the fridge inside, update food inventory, make menus, bake goods for the week.

Monthly- Wipe down counters, vacuum cobwebs, wipe high decor items, pick up counter items and clean under, clean counter items, clean inside of stove, dishwasher, and gunk in washing machine.

Tuesday: Living Room/Dining Room

For me these are one big connected area so I lump them together.

Weekly-dust, vacuum, put away items in an organized way, tidy paperwork at the desk, vacuum, clean glass surfaces.

Monthly-oil wood surfaces, clean out old paperwork at desk, clean out window tracks, clean windows and dust blinds, vacuum cob webs.

Wednesday- Master Bedroom and Bathroom

Weekly- Tidy, dust and vacuum. Wash bedding. Clean shower, tub, sinks, etc, and mop floor.

Monthly- Oil furniture, dust blinds, clean windows, organize closet, vacuum cob webs, dust light fixtures, wash curtains.

Thursday-Paperwork Day

This is the day to do any paperwork I need to do but also look for shopping deals, coupons, and organize my list for needs and groceries. This takes more time than you might think to do well. I might look ahead to the next week for menu ideas and see what I need to pick up for them.

Friday- School Aid/Errands

I am up at the school in Superkid's class ever Friday morning. Then it's a good day to do errands. I have not been on this schedule for a few months because we didn't have a car but now I'm excited to do this. It's my day to be in town after staying on task all week. I get what we need and like to stop at a thrift store for fun while I'm out.

Saturday- Morning off/ Family Chores

We take it very slow Saturday morning. After a week of school schedule the kids really love to have a break and so do I.

Weekly- In the afternoon though they have to clean their bedrooms, and now I'm having them start to share the load of their own bathroom. We have many pick up times during the week though so that this task is not long and drawn out. The also vacuum and dust their rooms and wash their bedding.

Monthly-I try to clean their windows and vacuum cob webs. Sometimes some re-organizing of items is needed too.

We are also going to have them vacuum and wash one vehicle every other weekend together. This is a new development and we'll see how it goes.

I'm hoping to start some gardening chores on Saturday afternoons when they are out playing as the weather gets better.

Sunday- Church/Family Outings/Community Group

Sunday is are only real day as a family as Rick works most Saturday's. The important thing about the above routine is that by the time we get to Sunday, we can enjoy each other and just relax.

This is easy to put into a chart and print from a simple computer program. Once it's set up, it can go in your notebook for running the house. I'm hoping to complete mine soon and share about it.

Within all this is of course a keep up plan. The kids unload the dishes and put them away every morning, they pick up their stuff and dirty clothes etc. Otherwise, you don't have time to get through the daily tasks.

When I refer to keep the heart of the home healthy I mean keeping the kitchen tidy. I have found that if the kitchen does not get done first and kept running well, we spend more money on easy dinners and lunches. I also will get discouraged and not want to get up to hit my day if the kitchen is a mess. Every meal, a little work has to be done.

From The Pantry Day 12: A Not So Great Update (and a bizzare story)

Got a little off track the challenge.
We decided to dive right into some overhauling organization which left the kitchen neglected. I should have cleaned the kitchen before I started the projects. (Note to self). It's so true that the kitchen in the heart of the home and if the heart is not functioning properly then you can't do the rest efficiently. My lack of efficiency led to Taco Bell.
At Taco Bell we met and gave a ride to a crazy lady who turned out to be very famous. I wrote a note of the whole story on Facebook (if you are on my fb, go to my profile to read) but did not want to post it here because I don't want all these other people who run into her to find my blog in their google search (which so many of them do) after their strange encounter with her and her crazy letters.
Then, I got side tracked yesterday googling some of her information and a valid name and address on her letters that led me to mind blowing information that m_i_n_d r_e_a_d_i_n_g through m_i_c_r_o_w_a_v_e technology is a real and ongoing study for use in weapon development. It was blowing my mind to know this woman may not have been just crazy, but really a victim of non consensual experimentation. I was brave enough to email the woman she referenced and she wrote me back to tell me that this lady I helped has been trying to contact her for years and has all her medical bills sent to her. She said she cannot help her but there are organizations who can. This woman is head of a group to fight against rights being violated through these scientific experiments. Did you know Russia and the US have been in a race to develop this technology to it's fullest? Ironically she the crazy woman called her problem m_i_c_r_o_w_a_v_e 6_6_7 (spaced added by me to keep search engines from my blog. people DO google this stuff) It turns out that there is technology by Panasonic with this name. I don't have time in my SAHM domestic life to research this more but I felt it was a warning to know it's happening. I felt the numbers were one godly number off from things to come if you follow my thought. When God lifts his hand from man's limits, the day will come when technology unfolds in biblical ways. I'm sure many of you don't have the time to read the documentation on this occurance which can be found if you go here: (not a real link, you will have to transfer it, I'm again adding spaces) m_i_n_d_j_u_s_t_i_c_e_._o_r_g This is the site the woman referenced in the crazy ladies letters runs. Even easier, you can watch this youtube and hear the just of the idea and see the woman referenced, Cheryl W_e_l_s_h whom I contacted, in the video. The crazy woman writes things like "no one sees what's happening" and other things that do go along with these theories. I don't know what in the world happened to this lady. It's like I've been thrown in to a strange novel (which my friend now says I should write.....IN MY SPARE TIME) or an episode of Dateline. Draw your own conclusions
(watch the whole thing if you watch any, it gets more important as you go)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7apZl_lt0A

So, anyway, back to reality. (though that may be reality too) I am trying to get back on track. We only ate out once and got pizza once but it's bothering me that I'm not staying on track. No more distractions about global conspiracy for me today.....just plain old, comforting housework. May the world continue to be crazy and going to pot, I've got my dishes to do.

BTW: the crazy lady is somehow tracked on this blog and there are copies of her disturbing documents she hands out. We gave copies to the police but I'm sure they just figure it's another crazy. Some of the documents contain upsetting material. Just remove dashes for the blog address:
a_o_w_f.blogspot.com

Beauty And The Beast: Pantry Day 7

This challenge is kicking me in the batootie. It's become clear that there had to be some things made for quick grab and lunch additions. That meant baking. I don't enjoy baking. Why you may ask? The MESS! I just don't get this mess from cooking. I started with a messy kitchen anyway since no one wanted to detail the kitchen after 12th night last night.
What I procured?



A double batch of Pumpkin Muffins and Granola. Doesn't sound like much does it?



Well....



Here is the beauty.....
(no pic of the granola..sorry)

And THIS ladies and gentlemen.....

Is THE BEAST!

Can someone please come and help me tame the beast!!!? Cause right now I'm throwing my head back, stomping my "I don't wanna!" foot and whining like my tween daughter.

DARN THIS PANTRY CHALLENGE...

Pantry Challenge: Day 4 & The Public School Mom Extra Challenge

Well, I'm sick with a virus. I'm in bed with fever and aches and meds. I'm so thankful Trish brought me canned foods she could not use because times like this usually throw me off a budget for food. I would normally have Rick pick up something for he and the kids. Tonight I had soup for me and beef stew for them. That was nice.

(go here to know what I'm up to with this challenge)

One of the ways this sort of challenge is hard for me is in the fact that everyone but me has to eat a lunch that cannot be warmed up. Therefore, leftovers (which are a frugal way to milk out your food for sure) are not usually an option for us. Knowing that I was taking this challenge I went to the Grocery Discount Store in A-town where I usually stock up on a lunchbox selection for the kids and Rick.

They have these bags there that have granola bars, snack mixes and sometimes fruit snacks. I'm not a big fan of the fruit snacks but it's a fun treat when they can have it. Each bag is usually $3.50 and contains about 24 snacks. I got 50 snacks for $7. When you consider that a box of granola bars on a good sale will run you $2 for just six, this is not bad.

Reporting this challenge I wanted to report what I spent so here is that stops rundown:

2 loaves of sandwich bread, 2 containers of coffee, 2 lemons, juice (for our picnic and more for lunch treats), lunch snacks, 6 red onions, pesto seasoning x2, and something I'm not remembering at the moment that cost $1.75 (they don't tell you what the items are on your receipt). Total cost: $21.19

Day 2 we had leftovers

Day3 We had cereal, a beach picnic (meat, cheese, crackers, carrots, juice, apricots and corn chips)

Day 4 (today) Whole Wheat Pancakes, PB&J packed (I got sick), and thankfully canned soups for dinner

Here is what's up and coming (understand that lunches are what I'm making for them and will be adding a fruit or veggie, a snack and a treat to the lunchbox):

Jan 5: Cream of Wheat and Grapefruit Juice

Pesto bowtie pasta w/ garbanzo beans and chopped tomato

Chicken Tortilla Soup w/ Cornbread (that was supposed to be for tonight)

Jan 6: Banana Muffins w/ milk

Meat and Cheese Sandwich

Albaloo Polow (A Persian Dish for Epiphany...more on that later)

Jan 7: Homemade Granola

Couscous Salad dried fruit and nut salad

Lentil Casserole w/ shredded lettuce salad

Jan 8: Baked Oatmeal

Leftover Lentils and rice

Ham and Cheese Scalloped Casserole w/ Salad

My rule for myself in this challenge is that it's better to buy a few little things to make food with the pantry than to buy normal groceries. However, so far, I have everything to make the above. Next week I hope to make some homemade things for lunches as well to milk out the snacks I purchased for the month.

Eating From the Pantry: Starting Out

Today I spent the first day of my 2010 first of all sleeping in a bit. Though it did not last long. We let our kids stay up as late as they wanted and two of them STILL don't know how to get tired enough to sleep in.

A great deal of the rest of the day, I did the inventory of the pantry, down to the detail. My strategy was to take it off the shelf, write it down, clean the shelf off, and put it back more organized than it was before. I'm not a neat freak when it comes to the pantry though so mine will never look like an advertisement for Tupperware, but this is good for me:

I was amazed at what I had in there. It really is enough to feed a large group of people for a month. However, that is if you are going to eat a LOT of legumes. Which, I dare say we will be!

I was not going for fancy in the documentation either. I simply got an old notebook out and noted what I had by "canned goods" (which I put boxes by how many of them I had so that when I use a can, I can check it off and I know how many I have left -this method works best for me), and "Dry Goods". This is just the canned goods page.

(...hey, no checking my spelling!:)

The other pages that had mostly dry goods, did not use the boxes system, I just stated an estimate of what it looked like I had such as "1 cup raisins" or "1/2 cup almond slivers".

I have yet to do the Freezer but my freezer is not too big so that should be easy. Tomorrow I hope to post the menu for the first week. This will involve school lunches and lunches for Rick so I'm pulling out the old bread machine as well and cranking her back up!

The first meal of 2010 on the Pantry challenge was not too skimpy however. We never got to have our Christmas ham due to outings for the Christmas Eve service and the fact that no one was hungry after Christmas munchies all day, so I made it for New Years. Since I agreed to document the meals of the month entirely however:

Jan 1st: Breakfast: Cereal and milk (exciting)

Lunch: Leftover homemade subway sandwich from last nights family night

Dinner: Christmas Ham w/ Pineapple and Cherries, Green Bean Casserole, and Garlic mashed potatoes.

Taking The Challenge

I threw the leftovers of the rotisserie chicken we had purchased the other day in the trash. I was feeling the need to clean out the fridge. Then, a pang came over my conscience and it said "TAKE IT OUT NOW AND BOIL THAT CARCASS!" So, thankfully because I threw it away in it's plastic dome container so pulling it back out a few seconds later meant it was fine. I had no plans for dinner anyway to so I boiled it, strained out the bits, pulled of the little bits of meat, seasoned the broth and added egg noodles. I made some simple grilled cheese and that was dinner tonight.

Once I did this I felt like I'd done a noble deed. I resolved that I should indeed take the challenge in January as much as I can to eat from the cupboard. Money Saving Mom blogs about it here.

I will be stocking up on some staples such as milk, butter, eggs, and some seasonings I've run out of over the holiday. From there I'll be working to make it stretch a month by spending as little as possible.

The one area this always becomes a problem in for me is with lunches for Rick and the kids. I'm determined to get creative and make this work.

I'll be starting by taking inventory over the next few days of what I have. Then, I'll be blogging here what it is that I have to work with and what I come up with to eat. Should be interesting. I won't compromise our health if we get too low on fruits or veggies, I will be shopping for those. The goal however is to use up what you have that needs using. My friend Trish brought me a bunch of stuff from a harvest basket she got that she could not use because unfortunately she is allergic to a lot of stuff. It has filled our cupboards with blessings and I need to use them up.

The biggest bane of this plan is that YOU HAVE TO PLAN, AND YOU HAVE TO COOK. So, this requires knowing where you are ahead of time. I don't always want to do that. I like an easy out now and then. This challenge will be good for me to think and plan, and yes, work in the kitchen more! LOL!

I'm always inspired from the memory of what my grandma told me of my great grandma's cooking during the depression. She had 9 children and she managed to feed them. She made either cornbread or biscuits at every meal. What a lot of work! Still, it takes work to make from what you have and that's what I need to do.

So, I'll keep you posted. Oh, and please, if you read what I've got, send me some ideas!

PS- I'm changing up the blog layout in the new year. This drop down menu is not working for me as I thought it would. I may loose a few links to your blogs for those I know personally....I'll get it all on track but it may take me a while.