It would appear that my “only buy produce, eggs, and dairy” challenge has also turned into a “see how deep you can dig down into the pantry and freezer to surprise your family with random food choices” challenge. I’m having a lot of fun. My family? I don’t even think they’ve actually noticed.
It’s just food to them. As long as there is plenty and as long as it is tasty, there doesn’t seem to be any argument to eating muffins made with freeze dried strawberries (this recipe, only with almost expired freeze dried strawberries) or an un-named casserole that used up the rest of our turkey and some odds and ends of pasta.
Kids: Mmm, what’s this casserole called, Mom?
Me: Dinner.
Kids shrug and get seconds
I have not made a dent in our store of food, though I am panicking a little bit as it appears we are completely out of the vital ingredient dried cranberries. I’m not sure how we will survive.
I had fun doing some price matching and buying our fresh produce for the week. Actually, most of what you see in the picture is gone already. We plow through it. I’ll probably head back to the store on Wednesday if we can wait that long.
Yes, that is one big sour cream tub.
I like that this brand contains only one ingredient, “cultured cream.”
We go through it pretty quickly, and as a side note:
When I use up the sour cream, the container is perfect for soup when I take meals to other families.
Regarding my plans to get ahead, can I just confess (again) how much I dislike cleaning? I was very willing to spend hours in the kitchen, but finding the motivation to go upstairs to tackle some filth? That is not nearly as much fun. Let’s focus on the fun food, shall we?
First thing, I grabbed out my Oh, For Real book and all spices needed to make Turkey Sausage and Ranch Salad Dressing Mix. Two full jars of spice mixes later, I put 12 pounds of ground turkey with spices on the stove to cook.
While the meat was cooking, I went to work on muffins. I had already put together and frozen Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins the night before, so I started on Banana Muffins and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins. Super easy!
Realizing I was hungry and about to faint (not really, but I thought I should add some drama), I pulled out tuna salad and a bunch of fruits and veggies. The boys had slept in and weren’t hungry yet for lunch, so I munched alone while jotting notes in my Menu Planning Notebook.
After working on menu ideas for this week, I turned over to the Freezer Section of printables. I decided to start jotting down what I have left in my freezers since I’m working on getting them cleaned. Having a running list will be helpful. I didn’t finish the list, because the turkey sausage was finished cooking and I was done eating. I’ll take my list out to my freezers later to take final inventory.
Yes, I know. Corn isn’t a vegetable.
Last, I took a few minutes (yep, that’s all it took) to make a double batch of Instant Oatmeal. It filled three half-gallon jars, so we should be set on that for a while. I love having that on hand!
After the meat cooled, I separated it into freezer bags for easy “almost ready” meals. We’ll be using some for Sausage Gravy this week!
Here’s what our menu choices look like for this week:
Breakfast
- Muffins from the freezer
- Quick Mix Biscuits with Sausage Gravy (Elias’ bday choice!)
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Scrambled eggs with peppers, spinach, and mushrooms
- Warm Chocolate Soother
- Whole Wheat Waffle
- Poptarts
Lunch
- Lasagna (Elias’ bday choice, recipe in What To Do With the Cow in Your Kitchen eBook)
- Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot
- Rice and Veggie Stir Fry
- Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Salmon Patties
- Taco Salad
Dinner
- Chili
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Beef Stew
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Orange Chicken
- Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
Fruit and Veggie Sides and Snacks (I serve 1-4 with every meal)
- Cheesy Vegetable Casserole
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
- Green Machine Milkshakes
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Cheesy Cauliflower Cakes
- Spinach
- Mixed Greens
- Romaine Lettuce
- Petite Carrots
- Broccoli and Carrots
- Cucumber
- Sweet Peppers
- Clementines
- Oranges
- Blueberries
By the way, this Easy Veggie Dip continues to be a big hit as we work our way through lots of raw vegetables!
How has your weekend been?
Curious what kind of ground turkey you use. And what your target price is per pound.
I order it by the case from Azure Standard – Shelton brand. I try to wait until it is on sale, which usually puts it just under $4/pound.
I go back and forth between healthy whole foods eating, and not so healthy, not so whole foods. Is so much rather be scrubbing a bathroom or cleaning out a closet. Sigh. Maybe we could work out some kind of arrangement? Lol!
Seriously, though, I’m due with baby #5 in two weeks and my energy level is non-existent. I know planning is my best friend, but sometimes I’m so tired, I can’t even think if the name of a vegetable, let alone a weeks worth of meals. I don’t even think I have a question here, just really enjoy your blog (for years now), and can’t wait to try some new things you’ve posted once baby is here! :)
I have been trying to use up what is in my freezer and we used leftover turkery to make the creamy chix and rice and chicken noodle soup. It was amazing
I take my leftover containers to church. That way when we have potlucks, people have a container to take extras home with them!
It’s incredible how quickly boys can plow through an enormous amount of food, isn’t it? How blessed we are that we are able to keep them fed!
I’d much rather cook in the kitchen than clean the house, too! :)
Happy Birthday, Elias!
I’m a little embarrassed to have to ask such a basic question. How did you cook so much ground sausage at one time and also do other tasks while it was cooking? I’ve been browning 10 pounds of turkey sausage in 2 skillets for 2 rounds, a total of 4 skillets worth. I have to keep a constant eye on it, stirring the whole time. I wish I could work on something else while that’s cooking.
It’s a really good question! I am able to do it because I use my big stock pot. Because it is all in one pot, I can give it the occasional stir, then walk away. :)