Shopping From Your Food Storage

This is not my house. I promise you it is not my food storage supply. BUT, it is definitely an inspiration to me! If only I had the means to stock up like this!!!!!

Even if you don't have a garage or large walk-in pantry that will fit shelves & oodles of food like these pictures show, you can still stock up a couple month's worth of food. You don't have to go out and buy 50lbs of wheat and 50 lbs of sugar to get by or help you out in the event of a short-term emergency, like job loss, or a tight financial week on the homefront.

The wheat & sugar bulk stockpiling is designed for long-term storage, or to at least sustain life. It's not necessary for short-term food storage. It's much easier to stockpile a couple month's worth of food that we know we're going to eat. Save the "sustain life" food for your long-term storage.

So what should be in your short-term food storage? Store what you eat! Yes, you can store the items that you are used to eating and cooking on a regular basis. The next time you go shopping, plan your menu in advance, and plan to buy twice as much of the nonperishable items when you add them to your grocery list.

For instance, plan your menu for just one week and write down the groceries that you will need for exactly one week.

Let's say, after planning your menu, you write down that you need 3 cans of corn, 3 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 1 box of cereal, etc. And all that you wrote down is enough for one week. Good. Now double the amount and write it on your grocery list.

Your second set of purchases won't go into the back corner of a dark closet (that's where you'll store the 50lb buckets of wheat & sugar! lol). Instead, plan on eating these items, the second set of your purchases, next in line. So when you use up the 3 cans of corn, 3 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and 1 box of cereal, you automatically have a fresh supply ready for you to eat, and you don't have to make a quick trip to the grocery store because you ran out of food!

Instead, you can shop from your own store! You planned a week's worth of meals, but instead you brought home two weeks' worth from the store. If something were to "come up" (i.e. unexpected medical bills, job loss, a family going through a tough time & you want to make a meal for them) you already have extra stored up.

Buying double of any freezables may be beneficial, too, just keep in mind that if you lose power for long-term (36 hours or more) then you may lose what you bought.


As buying extra becomes familiar to you, plan ahead even further by planning two week's or even a months' worth of meals. This will really help you build up your short-term stockpile. If you've planned a month's worth of meals, and doubled the amount of groceries to buy on your list, then you bring home two months' worth of meals! See? Now you've got your short-term stockpile! (it only needs to be 2 or 3 months' of food)

Continue rotating through your stockpile (note this doesn't mean stop buying food altogether; shop from your stockpile, but still purchase items as they are marked down or on sale, to keep up the supply). A permanent marker is a very helpful tool for going through your stockpile. You can use the marker to write the expiration dates in a very conspicuous spot on the can, box, or container. When you do bring home groceries, put the items with the farthest expiration date in the back of the shelf; those with the soonest expiration date go in the front so they get used up first.

The Shelf Reliance System. I'm drooling just looking at it. It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine!

You can use this same system--doubling your purchases--for nonfood items such as soap, toilet paper, or items that you can use in your Dental First Aid Kit. :) And you don't have to double up every week. Try every month, or every quarter. Use the system that works best for you.

Wok's For Dinner: Crock-pot Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Sorry, no picture for tonight's meal. My mommy brain kicked in. I thought I had uploaded the picture and deleted it. So please use your best imagination. :)

When I first decided to make this meal, I really, really thought that it had ground sausage in it. Really. I had convinced myself of that and decided to use ground venison sausage that friends gave us (hubs supplied our family with the ground venison, but we got the ground venison sausage from friends). I planned on this meal for a couple nights ago, but had to cancel that because we didn't have any tortillas. My loving hubby had kindly tossed them out, claiming they were "hard as a rock" or something. I managed to purchase some tortillas, so tonight was the night for this meal.

And as I put everything in the slow cooker this morning, I perused through the ingredients & lo & behold there isn't any sausage! And it dawned on me that the eggs were protein enough, why add sausage? But the venison sausage had thawed in the fridge long enough and needed to get used, so I decided we'd use it anyhow.

Here's my recipe. Click here to view the original recipe at A Year of Slow Cooking.

Crockpot Mexican Breakfast Casserole (sausage style)

Ingredients:
8 flour tortillas
8 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (7-ounce) can green chiles, drained
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 can corn
1 can sliced mushrooms
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Spray bottom & inside of 6-qt crock with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of slow cooker with 2-3 tortillas, torn into large pieces. Place 1/2 of ground sausage on bottom of crock right on top of the torn tortilla pieces. Mix & blend eggs, milk, 2/3 of the cheese, and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half of the egg mixture on top of the sausage in the crock. Add a layer of 2-3 more tortillas, torn in large pieces. Add remaining ground sausage on top of tortillas, and the remaining egg mixture on top of sausage. Add remaining tortillas, again torn in large pieces, on top of egg mixture. Sprinkle some of the remaining cheese on top of the tortillas. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with rest of shreded cheese on top.

I liked the flavor. It smelled heavenly when I came home from work. It was definitely different. Hubs said that it was all right, but the kids didn't eat any of it. Literally. Not any of it. They just weren't hungry and refused any source of substinance. So it was a good meal, like I said, different, and certainly worth considering for future reference.

Food Storage Stockpile: Don't Forget the Dentist

The dentist? Yes, the dentist.

In a roundabout way.

A friend of mine forwarded me a list of dental products that are worth stocking up on as part of my food storage. Obviously, dental products are not food, but they can be expensive. Think about all the little occurrences that come up when you might need something for your mouth, besides a toothbrush or toothpaste.

There's the little kiddos who cut teeth, or the occasional piece of food that gets stuck in your teeth. The young child who loses their first tooth, or second tooth (it won't be long and our Little Man will be at that age when the Tooth Fairy will make an appearance in our house).

Essentially, things come up. The scenarios above are rather mild compared to an emergency that could arise. I remember my brother had a really bad fall, and he actually broke one of his front teeth in half. Ouch! Not only was it painful, it was permanent. We didn't really have anything to help him until he could see a dentist.

Here's what you should consider adding to your Dental Storage Kit.

Preventive maintenance cannot be stressed enough. Take care of your teeth. If possible, visit a dentist at least twice a year to find and take care of any potential problems. Brush, floss and rinse - stock up on oral hygiene supplies. This can be done cheaply compared to the alternative of paying for repair of major problems, resulting from poor oral hygiene.

Stocking sufficient toothpaste, brushes, rinse and floss to last several years can be done rather cheaply; this stuff would also make excellent barter goods, in the event of an all-out collapse. If pressed; it's easy to make your own toothpaste, by mixing equal parts of baking soda and salt. The result tastes like crap, but it does an excellent job of cleaning your teeth and gums. Simply moisten a toothbrush and dip it in the mixture and brush as usual.

It is a good idea to have a dental first aid kit to complement your other first aid supplies. A basic kit should consist of:

• Temporary filling material Temparin or Cavit
• Tweezers
• Gauze
• Toothbrush
• Soft dental floss
• Toothpaste
• Oragel or other dental pain reliever
• Ibuprofin (Advil, Motrin)
• Clove Oil (pain relief)
• Rubber gloves (some people are allergic to latex)
• Dental wax
• Toothpicks
• Cotton
• Dental Mirror
• Hand Sanitizer

Or if you prefer you can purchase a ready-made kit and expand it into a comprehensive package. I also suggest you get a copy of Where There Is No Dentist available as a free download from Hesperian.org.

How bad was your last toothache? What did you do about it? Have you prepared for this emergency? How?

Dental storage kit list is from Linda Roots. Thanks, Linda!

Wok's For Dinner: Venison Stroganoff Sandwiches

You probably heard me say before that my husband does not like my Beef Stroganoff. No matter how it's prepared. Period. That is, with one exception--he likes it as a sandwich. I made Beef Stroganoff Sandwiches once before, long before starting this blog. I used my tried & true Beef Stroganoff recipe that I love, except I put it on a bun. Although he did not "love" it, he liked it enough that he said he would eat it that way again. And with the 30lbs of ground venison hubs brought home this Fall after hunting season, I figured it was worth trying some venison meat using the same stroganoff recipe, served on buns, of course (to make hubs happy). He thoroughly surpirsed me by preparing tonight's meal--heating up the stroganoff in a skillet, peeling, slicing, seasoning & baking potatoes to make Garlic Oven Fries. What a guy!

Venison Stroganoff Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 lb ground venison (you can use ground beef, ground turkey, etc.)
1 medium onion, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
1 can (4oz) mushroom stems & pieces
1 can (10.75oz) cream of mushroom
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Brown ground venison and onion in skillet at medium-high heat and add salt to taste. Drain grease. Return to skillet, reduce heat and add soup and mushrooms. Heat about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

If freezing: Cook as directed, but do not add sour cream. After cooling down, place in freezer bag, squeeze out air, seal & freeze. Thaw 24 hours in fridge. Heat in skillet or saucepan for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve on hamburger buns with a slice of cheese.

To-Do Tuesday: Week 6

First of all, congratulations to Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting for reaching one year of To-do Tuesday! I hope that I can be as dedicated to setting little mini goals, keeping up with them, and gaining a sense of accomplishment.

This is a very, very busy week. I won't even get to come home right after work today because of two meetings tonight. Hubs even gets to play "meals on wheels" by making a hot meal for him and the kids and bringing a plate to me so I can eat it at work right before needing to head out to the first meeting. That way, I can avoid the fast food lane. Aww, the things he does for me! So I'm going to keep to a simple task list this week.

• Take inventory of seeds for garden & replenish items that might be needed. I'm thinking we'll at least need herbs, squash, and watermelon.
• Plant seeds for garden. I planned on doing this as our FHE ("Family Home Evening") activity Monday night, but we decided to play board games with the kids instead.
• √1)Shop for last minute items on my freezer meal list and √2)participate in my February once a month cooking day!
• √Super clean the bathroom this week. I spot clean every few days by wiping down the toilet, sink, etc. But every few weeks, I give it a good scouring in all four corners.

That's it! I only have one item (revamp the kids' room) from last week that I didn't get around to. But I know that I won't be able to do them this week, so they are postponed for now.

This post linked to week 52 at Crazy Adventure in Parenting!

Wok's For Dinner: Rosemary Turkey Breast

I found this recipe in the Taste of Home: Thanksgiving Holiday cookbook; I think it was 2008. I found the recipe at the Taste of Home website, which is a good thing because I misplaced the holiday cookbook! That could have spelled disaster because then I wouldn't have been able to post the recipe. ;) Thankfully, I found the recipe online and I can share it with you. This was a freezer meal for us, so it was just a matter of heating & serving. The recipe below explains how I made it.

Rosemary Turkey Breasts

Ingredients:
1/2 cooked, turkey breast, bones removed & discarded
2 garlic cloves
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:
To help save me some time on my January freezer meal cooking day, hubs took the turkey we had and fried it up for me. Saved me the hassle of baking a whole turkey in the oven. You can prepare your turkey breast any which way you like--your choice. Or you could substitute 1 whole chicken breast instead of turkey. Remove the cooked turkey breast (or chicken) from the turkey bones and put in a freezer bag. Put remaining ingredients into a small food processor, and process until garlic cloves are coarsely chopped; add blended ingredients to freezer bag with turkey. Squeeze out as much air as you can from the bag, seal it up and put it in the freezer. Allow to thaw 24 hours in the fridge. The seasonings and oil will act as a marinade and blend with the meat's own natural joices while it's thawing in the fridge. Heat turkey breast with marinade on a plate in the microwave.

Menu Plan Monday: 2/15-2/21/10

Did you get any snow this past week? We were loaded with 5 inches and loved every minute of it! But the sun is warm out here in Eastern NC, and immediately started melting away the snow soon after we woke up Saturday morning.

We've got a very busy week ahead of us. Menu Plan Monday will be our life-line to help us plan our meals. And since I've started serving on our church's Young Women's (adolescent youth girls) Presidency, hubs has taken over preparing the meals on Tuesday evenings. What a great guy! He even offered to help out on those nights, so I could still eat with my family right after work before going to Mutual night for the Young Women.

Here's the menu plan for this week. I've really tried to take into consideration our activities during the evening.

Monday--Rosemary Turkey Breasts, Yellow Saffron Rice, Peas, Dinner Rolls
This is our weekly "Family Home Evening" or FHE night. We'll be planting seeds in little jiffy pots to get a head-start on the growing season. Hubs bought a really cheap greenhouse for me last Summer. It looks like a green metal storage rack with about 5 or 6 shelves and has a clear plastic covering. We'll store the jiffy pots in the little greenhouse during the day and see how it works during the cold weather.

Tuesday--Crockpot Mexican Breakfast Casserole
I have a meeting at church shortly after work, plus Mutual Night for Young Women's. Hubs will be playing "meals on wheels" and will make this meal, then bring some of it to me as soon as I get off work. I'll eat it either before leaving work, or as soon as I get to my meeting.

Wednesday--Venison Stroganoff Sandwiches, Garlic Oven Fries, Celery & Carrot Sticks
Hubs's turn to have a meeting at church. The stroganoff is a freezer meal and won't take long to heat up. I think I'll ask hubs to get the fries going by peeling & cutting the potatoes, and I'll finish them up when I get home.

Thursday--Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza, Garlic Green Beans, Sliced Apples
Another meeting for me at church in the evening (told you it was a busy week!). This time it will be for the adult women. We are doing a service project and making hygiene kits. Light refreshments will be served, which isn't exactly a full-course meal. So I'll ask hubs to get this meal started for me so I won't have as much to do when I get home, and I'll still be able to eat with the family.

Friday--Mushroom Turkey Tetrazzini, Oranges

Saturday--Herbed Turkey Breasts, Grunner Bohnensalat (German Green Bean Salad)
My once a month cooking day!!

Sunday--
Breakfast: Banana Muffins
Dinner: Taco Soup, Sweet Corn Bread, Squash

For hundreds of great menu plans & recipes, visit OrgJunkie.com!

A Better Breakfast: Corn Cakes

A year ago, if someone told me that I would one day make corn cakes, I would have thought they were crazy. I've never been a big fan of any kind of cornbread, excluding the cornbread muffins from Cracker Barrel (and this fantastic sweet corn bread recipe I found at Startsampling).

And yet, here I am, making corn cakes, of all things! Since I'm able to take a little time to make a homemade breakfast at least one day each weekend, I've been trying out new recipes that I've come across. This recipe came from Five J's. and is VERY simple and easy to make. The kids and I really enjoyed it. Hubs wasn't feeling so well, so he opted out of eating anything except the eggs I made him.

Corn Cakes

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup milk

1 box (8oz) Jiffy corn muffin mix

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a medium-size bowl. You can easily double the recipe, just make sure to use a larger bowl! haha

Cook pancakes on a greased griddle. I just used some nonstick cooking spray to lube my griddle.

Cook up like regular pancakes. When edges of corn cakes are bubbly & dry, flip over using a spatula. Corn cakes should be nice & golden.

Serve with butter and honey, or stick to a traditional pancake topping and use syrup. :)

Wok's For Dinner: Potato Pizza

I loved, loved, LOVED this meal when I was younger. My stepmother made this every time I visited her & my dad, which was every summer and every other Christmas. I was probably 12 years old by the time she gave me the recipe. I really had to drag it out of her. It's a great meal for feeding a lot of people. Hubs likes it a lot, and since I rarely make it, I thought it would be a great dinner for Valentine's since we were staying home this year.

Potato Pizza

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp sugar

1 can (15oz) tomato sauce

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes (I used 6 medium-size potatoes)

1 Tbsp butter

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup milk

mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Brown ground beef with salt, pepper and onions. Render fat from ground beef. Add oregano, sugar and tomato sauce. Combine potatoes and beef mixture into a 13x9x2-inch pan. Dot with butter. Stir together cheddar cheese soup and milk until smooth. Pour cheese sauce over top, but don't stir. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven, remove & discard foil. Arrange shredded mozzarella and sprinkle on grated Parmesan. Return pan, uncovered, to oven and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

If freezing: I prepared the ground beef ahead of time by browning it with the salt, ground black pepepr & chopped onion, froze it in a quart-size freezer bag, and let it thaw in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Then I prepared the bulk of the meal as directed in the recipe.

Spectacular Sides: Garlic Oven Fries

It's a rare occasion that I make french fries. This time, I thought I'd try my hand at making homemade fries. And they were an instant hit! I sort of just made this recipe up as I went.

Garlic Oven Fries

Ingredients:
5-6 medium size potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise (the thinner you slice, the quicker they'll cook up)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp season salt
ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place potato slices on a cookie sheet or large baking pan.


Sprinle with olive oil and seasonings. Stir with a spatula to evenly coat all the potatoes.

Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, turning fries over about halfway through the cooking time. Remove fries from ove when golden brown or cooked to your preference.

Serve and enjoy!!

February OAMM Menu

I worked long & hard this afternoon planning my monthly freezer meal menu. I was watching the Olympics at the same time, and feeling really sleepy, so both probably contributed to my inability to whip it out quickly. But I worked through the drowsiness, and planned out a menu that I'm looking forward to trying out.

And while planning the menu, I stuck mostly to tried and true recipes, and a few recipes that I've held on to for a few years but have never tried. In fact, I actually tossed out a handful of recipes that I've kept for years but never made and figured at this point I would never make them, so it wasn't worth holding onto them. But considering the amount of recipes I've got that I have yet to try, I barely put a dent in the cookbook! (if I see a recipe I like, I'll print it off and stick it in my cookbook thinking that "one day I'll try it")

I've also planned on substituting different meats for several of the recipes. For instance, we have very few red (or beef) meals planned. Hubs got a deer this past Fall, so we have lots of ground venison & ground venison sausage in our chest freezer. I'll be using the venison for several traditional ground beef meals.

My once a month cooking day is scheduled for next Saturday. Unlike previous months, I have not ordered anything from Angel Food Ministries this month. I started ordering from AFM back in September 2008, and I've ordered something every month since then (for reasons why I supplemented some of our groceries with orders from AFM, click here). Earlier this month, I realized that I've done a pretty good job working the sales ads in our community, stockpiling and planning ahead, to the point that I do not feel like I need to rely on AFM to supplement our groceries. That is this month, and certainly may change next month. I decided to not buy anything from AFM this time and see how things go. I am a firm believer in how the ministry helps families (the standard and fruit/veggie boxes, especially). So I may order again in the future, but right now there is not a need for it.

With that said, below is my freezer meal menu plan. I am including breakfast meals this time. Our church is meeting on Sunday afternoons instead of early in the morning this year, which is great because it gives me the opportunity to make breakfast for my family.

Breakfasts:
Apple Date Yogurt & Homemade Granola
Chocolate Buttermilk Muffins
Oatmeal Pancakes
Banana Muffins
Pumpkin Bread

Dinners:

Chicken:
Chicken Angel Hair Pasta
Rustic Stuffed Potatoes
Chicken Tacos
Creamy Chicken & Chile Enchiladas
Chicken Breasts Dijon
Oven Barbecued Chicken
Chicken Stir Fry
Creamed Chicken & Biscuits
Lite Lemon Chicken

Pork:
Mu Shu Pork
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Slow Cooked Pork Tacos
Pork Broccoli Stir Fry
Pork Roast With Plum Sauce
Adobon Baboy / Pork Cooked in a Pickling Style
Pork and Broccoli Risotto
Don't Know the Name but it's Delicious
Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Chops

Fish:
Salmon Patties

Venison:
Albóndigas / Porcupines
Kraut Bierocks
Pizza Casserole
Li'l Cheddar Meatloaves
Venison and Bean Tacos

Carry Over & Nonfreezer Meals:
Trout Au Gratin
Baby Back Bash Ribs
Slow Cooked Corned Beef & Cabbage (for St. Patrick's Day, of course!)
Corned Beef Sammies
Beef Macaroni
Brats
Breaded Chicken Patties

This post linked to Once a Month Mom, a fantastic resource for once a month cooking!

Wok's For Dinner: Goulash

This was one of my absolute favorite meals when I was a kid. Whenever I visited my grandparents, my grandma always had to make it for me. My mom knew that it was one of my favorites, and sometimes she would make it. Usually when she did, she tried to "spice it up" with lots of seasonings and extras that just took away from the simplicity--and my enjoyment--of the meal. The cheese is what makes this meal a success. Lots & lots of cheese (another childhood favorite of mine).

Goulash

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced small
Salt & pepper, to taste
8oz macaroni pasta
1 can diced tomatoes
8-10 American cheese slices

Directions:
Brown ground beef with onion, salt and pepper; drain grease when no longer pink. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain water when pasta is tender. Mix pasta with ground beef mixture and diced tomatoes. Break cheese slices up into several pieces and stir into pasta mixture. Serve.

If freezing: Brown the ground beef, onion, salt & pepper ahead of time and freeze. Thaw 24 hours in refrigerator and prepare remainder of meal as directed above.

I Never Thought I'd See The Day

Is that what I think it is?

Christmas decorations? Boxed up?

Oh yeah!

And they even managed to make their way into the attic.

This is just a sampling of the boxes of decorations. (I accidentally deleted one of my pictures.)

I feel like singing, "Finally! It's happened to me, right in front of my face and I just cannot hide it."

Note the kitchen cabinets getting a new paint job!! :-)

Wok's For Dinner: Beef Medallions

This is a tasty meal that has turned out well every time I've made it. The recipe is for beef tenderloin, but I had a really small roast that I used and sliced into little "medallions" instead. I used the beef broth for dipping a slice of bread.

Beef Medallions

Ingredients:
1 lb beef tenderloin, about 6 inches long
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
1/2 tsp cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1/2 cup beef broth

Directions:
Cut beef tenderloin into thin slices. Heat 1 Tbsp margarine or butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Saute' beef in margarine or butter over medium-high heat 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once, until brown and center is medium or medium rare (you can go well done if you prefer). Remove beef to warm platter; keep warm. Cook and stir remaining margarine or butter, cocoa, salt, garlic & rosemary in smae skillet until bubbly. Gradually stir in beef broth. Heat to boiling; boil and stir 1 minute. Serve over beef or on the side as au jus dipping sauce.

Wok's For Dinner: Crispy Mustard Pork Chops

Nummy, nummy! I loved the tangy/spicy mustard flavoring. These chops were a real winner. The recipe came from a recipe sheet I got from Angel Food Ministries several months ago.

Crispy Mustard Pork Chops

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sour ceam
3 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb boneless pork chops

Directions:
In a bowl, combine sour cream and mustard. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on a plate. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Dip chops, one at a time, into the sour cream and mustard mixture to coat lightly. Then dip into bread crumb mixture, coating lightly, and transfer to a plate. Place chops into a nonstick skillet head up over medium heat. Cook 5-8 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle, pressing down with a spatula so that crumbs adhere. Transfer to a platter.

If freezing: Place cooked chops into a freezer bag, seal up and place in the freezer. Thaw 24 hours in the refrigerator. To heat, place chops onto a plate and warm up in the microwave.

First Birthday Party Invite

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

I Think This Is Progress...

I woke up this morning to quite a surprise in the living room. Hubs took the time take the Christmas tree down, which really opened up the space.

Problem is...

The tree is still in the living room!

Taking up nearly half of the couch.

(as though it was kickin' back watching TV, no less!)

And the ornaments?

The newest centerpiece for our dining table.

Ok, so are the boxes of cereal that I bought this past weekend. I gotta reorganize a pantry cabinet to make room.

So yeah, I guess this is progress. Or maybe just a big hint to get these items boxed up! :)

Bargain Buys

It had been a couple weeks since my last shopping trip. We were in need of some staples, and there were lots of items on sale that were worth stocking up on. Here are some highlights from my shopping trip this past Saturday:

Food Lion:
You can find these Food & Family booklets in the front of the Food Lion stores right now. They are filled with healthy recipes, fitness tips, and--best of all--over $5 in coupons for Kraft products that don't expire until 12/31/2010! I couldn't help myself and grabbed several booklets. Note that the coupons do state "one coupon per customer, per day".

Also at Food Lion: Smart Option gallon-size milk is only $2.25 each! How cheap is that?!!

Piggly Wiggly:

Piggly Wiggly is well-known for their meat. The store closest to me is in a rather rough neighborhood, but when there are bargains like this, I ain't scared to round up the deals! Plus, this is the only store in my area that will actually carry out my groceries, and the employees are extremely friendly.

Chicken leg quarters, sold in 10lb bags, were on sale for $3.99 each. That is just $0.399 per pound! If I knew that I had enough room in my chest freezer, then I would have bought 3 or 4 bags. I normally buy these when they are in the $0.48-$0.55/lb range, so I definitely got a bargain this time. Rather than wait for this month's freezer meal cooking day to roll around in a couple of weeks (by the way, I am contemplating what my menu will be), I will just put these leg quarters in a large crockpot, set it to low, and let the meat cook up until it falls off the bone, then I'll turn around and use the bones to make homemade chicken broth, which I've run out of. I'll freeze the cooked meat. This will save me from spending a lot of time in the kitchen on my once a month cooking day.

Also at Piggly Wiggly--Mueller's elbow macaroni & spaghetti was on sale for $0.33 each, and Piggly Wiggly brand brown gravy mix was only $0.10 each. We don't eat a lot of pasta (maybe a few times a month...?) but it's nice to have on-hand, especially for such a low price. And we don't eat a lot of brown gravy, but again, for the price, it's worth stocking up on so it's there if I need it.

Target:

One final item worth mentioning. I've been in need of a new "lather thingie" (there was a comercial nearly 15 years ago of a burly football player using one of these in the shower, and that's what he called it...the term has stuck with me ever since) but putting off buying one. Target had a nice purple-colored one in the dollar section. But Little Miss, who was out shopping with me, dragged me to the make-up aisle to show me some pretty lip gloss that caught her eye. I didn't buy any of the lip gloss, but I did snag this hot pink lather thingie priced at only $0.68!

What about you? What bargains have you picked up lately? Feel free to post a comment and share your recent shopping trip. I'm always looking for inspiration!