The Food Update Begins

After all that, you're probably getting anxious to hear about my week. Well, maybe not, but you're back to read some more, so I'll share with you while you're here! ;)

It all started on Sunday afternoon when we went to one of our local farmer's markets which I had been planning on doing for a while and it finally fit our schedule. I knew there was a farmer there that sold large bags of produce for $10 and I had intentionally planned on getting the ingredients we'd need for canning salsa for that price. I was a little disappointed to find that they didn't really have all the things I'd need, but I still took advantage of the offer to get as much as I could and also get a large amount of higher priced produce items. Around here, bell peppers aren't very affordable, but they seem to go in so many recipes. I loaded up a bunch of peppers to begin with (some of them would be used for the salsa too), then I got some onions, tomatoes, more bell peppers, green beans, lettuce, poblano peppers (for the salsa), more tomatoes, more peppers, and broccoli until the bag was full. When we got home and unloaded my bag this is what we ended up with:

I think we counted up 15 bell peppers (I found one more after I took this picture). Those alone around here would have cost me more then $10 at the grocery store and I got all the rest of it too! Just thinking about it gets me excited again. I love a good deal, it's like my "drug"! ;) 

I instantly got busy getting these things ready to be stocked up and ready to be used later in the year. I chopped some of the bell peppers up to be used for the salsa and other recipes, then I cut a bunch of them lengthwise to keep for fajitas. I blanched and peeled all the tomatoes, cored and chopped them for salsa or other canning recipes, chopped the onions either for the fajitas or diced and ended up with: 

Each of these items was in smaller freezer bags, stored in 1 Cup measurements for easy use for future recipes.

The "fajita packs" have two different kinds of peppers and onions chopped and ready to be added to the meat we chose on fajita night. All I'll need to do is add it to the pan after the meat is cooked, add the seasonings and dinner is ready. I could easily use it for a stir fry or other meal too if I wanted to. It's so convenient for the dinner-in-a-hurry-nights. 

This got me started on what would turn out to be a deal-seeking, convenience-making week that hopefully will help me beat even more odds at the grocery store this winter! 

Cereal Stock Up

This week our Albertson's had a special on General Mills cereals for $1.57/box. We had one box left in our stock pile, so I knew this would be a great opportunity to stock up. I also had 3 $1 off coupons for General Mills cereals too, so I was sure to read all the fine print on those to get that extra savings. After it was all said and done, I walked out with 8 boxes of cereal for about $10! That was a savings worth the extra trip!

A Giant Pot Chili

Chili has to be one of the easiest things to make it bulk and can be a really inexpensive meal. This week I did just that. To cut the costs even more, I bought the bags of beans (rather then the cans) which only cost about $1 each and make a whole lot more! It did take some time, but not really "working time". The beans do need to sit over night in water to soak, but that only takes 5 minutes the night before to get them ready and then you let them cook alone for about 1 1/2-2 hours and then it's just like making your regular recipe. So, for about $5-6 I got 5 meals (maybe a little more if you count for lunches) out of it!  We ate it the night I made it and then I filled 4 large freezer storage bags with the leftovers. It's also easy and inexpensive to stretch the chili too. If you need a little extra filler you can serve it over rice and/or make cornbread or another side. I loved the savings I got out of using three bags of beans! It's a rice and beans budget, but doesn't has to always taste like it! ;)

Stocking up for winter

This week has felt like a "stocking up" kind of week. On Friday and Saturday I went garage saling for some clothes the kids will need this fall/winter and hit a few jackpots! For just over $20 I think I have most of what they'll need. Some dressier clothes for our son, it seems like he has plenty of every day clothes as handy me downs, but needed some nicer clothes for church, weddings, parties, etc. So, I think I got enough to get him through at least until Christmas present time! ;) For our daughter, I needed pants! I went to put a pair of her pants on from the spring a couple days ago and they were short....all of them. :( I figured I better get them before garage saling season is over, so that was on the list this week. I found her 8 pairs of pants at one sale, $1 each! :) I also got her several pairs of pjs (all princesses of course!), a couple sweatshirts and t-shirts. I'm thinking I may need to get her some more long sleeve shirts as we go through the winter, but there is always plenty of that on clearance throughout the season, and there is also Christmas! ;) For now, I think we're ready for the change of season for both of them, we're all stocked up!

Of course, the kitchen is another place to get stocked up. As I mentioned we had all the apples to use, so I decided to bake apple/cinnamon muffins with some of the pulp (I still have plenty left for another couple baking projects) I had from the juicer. While I was at it I figured I should also use the shredded zucchini I had in the freezer since last summer to use for bread. Then, I got a sweet tooth and figured cookies should also be baked. Yes, crazy, I know! I've always heard of people doing like bulk baking/cooking days and freezing everything and it was always something I had wondered about doing. Well yesterday, I did it. I pulled out all of the baking supplies and went to work. Now our freezer is stocked with 30+ apple muffins, 30+ zucchini muffins, 3 loaves of zucchini bread, 2 frozen batches of cookies (slice and bake kind of idea). Then the pantry has 2 batches of chocolate chip cookie dry ingredient mixes ready to have the liquid ingredients added at a moments notice or the first sign of a snow day to be baked and our counter has a batch of cookies calling us to eat them every time we pass them by! WOW! Of course, never forget the mess these things leave behind too...yes, I have that too. It was nice though to finally use those things that I have had and figured, I'll use them for baking and just never seemed to remember to do it. Now this year, I have them all prepared and at the first thought of company I have breakfast, snacks and dessert covered! The important things, right?

A few things I learned:
1. Don't do this if you aren't a multi-tasker, it requires thinking about a lot of things at once
2. Making similar types of recipes and just doubling/tripling them works better then multiple types of ideas
3. Clean as you go...you'll end up needing those same supplies again anyway, so keep cleaning them.
4. I wish I would've borrowed some bread pans for this project and I could've had more in the oven at a time and been more efficient.
5. Pray that this is the day your kids take long naps and wake up in a good mood! :)

Not that I'm at all ready to see the summer warm days full of playing outside, hanging out by the pool, sitting out on the porch in the evenings, BBQ dinners and suntans go away--but now I'm ready for the change of weather when it inevitably comes. I'm trying to embrace it...