Monday Menu Plan - Pantry Pull Dates

Over the weekend I organized my pantry noting "best by" dates and arranging my stockpile accordingly. I was surprised to find this large quantity of expired food, but I feel pretty good that about 85% of it has a pull date from this summer.

Here's a photo:



I am not one to waste food so we've got to use this up ASAP!

The most embarrassing date is actually from 2001! I probably shouldn't announce that I have food that old, but I'm sure you're all full of grace, right? It's coffee beans so I figure we'll give them a try. I have a grinder and DH doesn't really care what the coffee tastes like since he puts flavored creamer in to cover up the taste anyway. I'll keep you posted on that one . . .

Dinners:
Monday - Lemon Chicken (use expired marinade) & Italian Herb Rice-a-Roni (also expired)
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes (freezer meal)
Wednesday - Pork & Cashew stir-fry (from freezer)
Thursday - Orange Chicken in crockpot (using Catalina dress & orange marmalade) with rice. DH & the kids love stuff like this, but it's way too sweet for me.
Friday - Dinner at a friend's house
Saturday - Beef stir-fry with broccoli, sugar peas, carrots (and expired seasoning mix)
Sunday - Easy Turkey Pot Pie (uses stuffing mix)

Lunches:
Monday - Grilled Cheese
Tuesday - Pasta & Red sauce (little bit of sauce in the freezer to use up)
Wednesday - PBJ
Thursday - Quesadilla
Friday - Mac'n'Cheese
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - Lunch Out


Snacks:
Clearly I have lots of junk food to use . . . yuck. I guess we'll be eating cupcakes, having cocoa on colder mornings, making some fudge at some point, and gingerbread cookies in August. Ha!

Katie

Saturday Shopping - $54.67!

I shopped way more than I intended do. Darn! Now we just won't have gas money - gah!
I'm having a heck of a time sticking to $100 a week for my allowance.

Anyway, I spent $54.67 and this is what I got:


At Safeway:
5 boxes Kix - $1.99 each with store coupon($1/2 and $1.50/3 MC) = $1.49 ea.
2# brick of cheddar - $4.99
2# shredded cheddar - $4.99
16 ct. string cheese - $3.99 with store coupon ($.50 MC) = $3.49
bananas - $.69/lb
nectarines - $.99/lb
2# organic carrots - $1.00 each

At QFC:
Creamer - $2.50 sale price ($.50 MC) = $2.00
Yami Yogurt 6 pack - $1.69 clearance price
3 Turkey lunchmeat - $1.49 clearance price ($.75/2) = $1.25 each

At this point I should have just been done shopping, but I really wanted to get grapes and pears at Fred Meyer. That would have probably been OK, but then I had to just check out the clearance bins . . .

At Fred Meyer:
Pears - $.88/lb
Grapes - $.98/lb
Green Onion - $.44/bunch
Spinach - $.78/bunch
Yellow Onion - $.59/lb (Noticed the 3# bag of 'bargain onions' cost $2.29 - Hmmm)

Then the clearance items -
2 boxes of Rice Chex - $1.89 clearance price ($1.00/2 MC) = $1.39 each
FM brand Raisin Bran - $.99 clearance price
10# unbleached flour - $2.79 clearance price
Taco Shells - $.79 clearance price ($.50 MC) = $.29
2 loaves Vita-Bee bread - $.99 clearance price each
FM brand green beans - $.29 clearance price
FM brand cream of mushroom - $.49 clearance price
FM brand cream of chicken - $.29 clearance price

Finally I bought 5 bottles of formula for $.59 each after $5 coupons from a friend.

It just adds up!

Katie

Zucchini Bread

I've had several friends ask for my zucchini bread recipe over the years. I thought I had posted it here, but I couldn't find it as I searched last night. Likely I have posted but just mislabeled the post. Oh well. It's a yummy recipe and if you have crazy amounts of zucchini in your garden it's a great way to use it up!

It's another allrecipes find. Click here to see the original.

I especially love this recipe because I only dirty my 1/2 and 3/4 measuring cups, I can use my teaspoon for the dry ingredients, and my tablespoon for the wet ingredients. It's a small thing, but if you bake a lot you'll understand how nice it is not to have to wash your cups and spoons when combining ingredients. It's just fast to put together - zip, zip, zip.

I made some slightly healthier modifications:

Ingredients
1.5 cups all-purpose white flour
1.5 cups all-purpose wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2.5 cups grated zucchini

Directions
1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In this order beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. (You can use your 1/2 cup without rinsing between the oil and applesauce. Also use your 3/4 cup for the sugar and your tablespoon for the vanilla here).
3. In this order add salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and both flours to the creamed mixture, and beat well (Add the cinnamon last because it'll color your teaspoon and use your 3/4 cup again for the flours).
4. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

My kids love this and we'll eat a loaf in a day easily. I have made this recipe three times this week (to share) and I didn't manage a single picture. Oh well.

Katie

Top Foods Trip $19.91

I had a coupon for $5/$25 at Top Foods this week so I headed over for a small trip. We are so desperately low on groceries I was pleased to find reasonable prices on some basics we usually pick up other places.

I mentioned earlier this week that I didn't want to grocery shop until Saturday, but I just couldn't hold out! I had several things to return to Target so I didn't have to 'draw' my grocery allowance early either.

As I checked out my total was $24.91 but I there weren't any candy bars or packs of gum in the aisle I could toss in. The cashier graciously suggested I make a "round up" donation to the charity of the month, Seattle Children's Hospital, which made my total $25 even and with $5 off, just $20. Yahoo!

Here's my haul along with DD#3:

Everything was 20% off with my $5/$25 coupon, so here's what I paid:
Mac & Cheese - $.50 sale price (20%) = $.40/box
Spinach - $1.00 sale price (20%) = $.80/bunch
Celery - $.69/lb sale price (20%) = $.55/lb
Cantaloupe - $.39/lb sale price (20%) = $.31/lb
Plums - $1.49/lb sale price (20%) = $1.19/lb
Olives - $.99 (20%) = $.79 each
Eggs - $1.19 sale price (20%) = $.95 dozen
Organic Milk - $5.49 (20%) = $4.39 gallon
Chicken Drumsticks - $.99/lb (20%) = $.79/lb
Salad Dressing - $.99 sale price (20%) = $.79 each
Bananas - $.69/lb (20%) = $.55/lb

I'm desperate for cheese so I might still head to a grocery store again this week. QFC has 2# if cheddar for $4.99 which is as good as I've seen in a long time.

Katie

Freezer Meal Swap - Zucchini Ranch Meatloaf

Tuesday night I had my monthly meal swap. I made Zucchini Meatloaf based on a recipe I found at allrecipes.com. I had major Zucchini and major ground beef so it seemed like a good choice. Bonus that I got to use up lots of breadcrumbs that have been taking up freezer space.

Here is a photo of all the ingredients and DD#1 in her favorite pose. I actually had to buy the onions, but otherwise had the ingredients on hand.



Ingredient list:
2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup shredded zucchini
3/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1 egg
1 t. worcestershire sauce
1 c. cheddar
1 & 1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 c. ranch dressing
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. bbq sauce

I tripled this and made 5 meatloafs. The comments on the recipe indicated this was a huge recipe and could be split in two.

First I combined all the ingredients excepting the ketchup and bbq sauce



Then I split it into 5 equal portions and put one into a pan for my family's dinner.


Then I combined the ketchup & bbq sauce, again dividing it into 5 parts.
I put one portion on our loaf and popped it into the oven for an hour.

I forgot to take a photo when it came out, but my husband and kids ate it right up so I guess it was alright.

I would have made more, but I only had 3 eggs and I only had 3 cups of cheddar. With the grocery shopping dearth I resigned myself to just tripling the recipe.

Katie

Garden Goodness!

You can imagine the anticipation, returning from a month long trip, I had about seeing my vegetable garden. A friend agreed to come and water once a week, but other than that I wasn't sure what shape it would be in.

Alas, this is the sight that greeted me:

Scary, right? Well then I braved the knee high grass and weeds for a closer look. I saw tomatoes!

Snap Peas!

Pumkpkin Blooms!

Cucumber! Oh Happy Day - the slugs love to eat my cucumbers!

Lettuce! Trying to grow under the shade of squash leaves.

Zucchini!

There were also lovely green beans, an acorn squash and a yellow squash plant that looks promising. Here is what we picked. Clearly we need to use some zucchini!

And clearly I need to teach DD#3 not to pick anything unless Mommy helps her - notice the green tomatoes. I'm so pleased the garden is doing well and that we'll be able to set some stores aside for the winter. I'm thanking the Lord for good weather, good friends, and hearty plants during our absence.

Next up - Weed this crazy mess! Maybe I'll manage it by next week. =^)

Katie

Monday Menu Plan

I know it's Tuesday, but I like the alliteration.

Yesterday I posted that I'm trying to avoid the grocery store this week so my plan this week reflects lots from the freezer and pantry. I did eventually get my garage freezer emptied and defrosted and the inside freezer was looking pretty empty before we left. However, we visited a hobby farm in Riverside, CA on our trip and the wonderful owner, Cathy, blessed us with serious beef! With those 15 pounds of meat added - the freezer looks like this:



Dinners
Monday - Sausage vegetable soup (made this the day before we left to use up all the produce and packed it across 6 states only to eventually bring it home again)
Tuesday - Zucchini Meatloaf (meal swap dinner)
Wednesday - Italian turkey sausages & potato salad from 4th of July (tossed in freezer as we left)
Thursday - Dinner at Bible study - taking a big green salad of garden veggies
Friday - Easy Turkey Pot Pie (mom out at ladies' night)
Saturday - Chicken Taco Soup (in crockpot - mom out babysitting)
Sunday - Sour Cream Chicken

Lunches
Monday - Strawberry Pancakes
Tuesday - Frozen Pizza (errand day)
Wednesday - Soup & Crackers
Thursday - Macaroni & cheese
Friday - Waffles
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - Daddy feeds girls out while mommy potty trains DD#3

Breakfasts - We're out of milk and fresh fruit so it should be interesting.
Monday - Instant Oatmeal (expired from one of the Grandmas)
Tuesday - French Toast
Wednesday - Instant Oatmeal (same)
Thursday - waffles
Friday - scratch oatmeal
Saturday - Instant Oatmeal (same)
Sunday - Cold Cereal! Will buy milk on Saturday

Also, DD#4 is fast outgrowing baby food, but I have a bunch to use up so she is having lots of cereal and jar food this week.

Next week I'll have to go through the pantry checking dates. Whatever old stuff I find there will dictate next week's menu. Stay tuned!

Katie

Back in Action!

It's good to be home!

DH, 4 little DDs and I have just returned from a month long road trip. It was a whirlwind of fun, family, and exhaustion. During our many long days in the car, DH and I had lots of time to talk and we agreed that I should start blogging again - Yahoo! - because he's always been a big fan of this particular endeavor and I am feeling like my priorities are in order.

This week my particular challenge will be getting unpacked and sorted out after our trip. Tasks include:

• Going through a month of mail


• Getting the garden harvested/weeded (it's a jungle out there!)


• Feeding the family without grocery shopping


• Making meals for tomorrow's swap without grocery shopping

I'm avoiding the grocery store because I spent the bulk of my weekly budget at garage sales over the weekend and I need to save what's left for a dinner out with friends this week. So sorry family - it's going to be a lot of pancakes. Up next: Weekly menu plan.

So happy to be writing again!

Katie