I really don't mind shopping nearly as much as putting it all away after I get home. This month I got a lot of bargains that were exactly what I had on my shopping list. Bread for Easter holiday dinner. No need to bake it if I can find it on discount. Less time in the kitchen on a holiday. (to see the normal price on these, click to make the photo larger)
Corn bread to be with my evening meal so I don't have to cook anything the day after shopping day. My crock pot comes in handy while I'm busy putting foods away. Things like this cornbread are my version of fast food. It's just as convenient to visit the grocery deli as it is to order from a drive through but much healthier from the deli.
Rolls for a cookout my daughter plans in a couple of weeks.
I do a lot of repackaging of the foods into individual portions before freezing. Like this three pounds of discount 80/20 ground beef. I first mix it for burgers.
Make up a dozen burgers to flash freeze then add more ingredients for meatloaf.
Which is then frozen into individual size meatloaf muffins. If you do this be sure to lightly oil the muffin tin or else you won't be able to remove them after freezing. I use a store brand of pam.
Individually wrapped burgers and meatloaf muffins make it convenient to thaw and cook only what is needed for one or two people. These are just the right portion size for a person on a special diet like me. If I change my mind and want to use these for meatballs I can just reshape them before cooking. If I want to use these for sloppy joes or tacos I just chop them as I cook. Get the idea?
I do the same repackaging and freezing with my other foods.... like these.
Repackaged and ready to thaw out only what I need for a meal.
I've never tried beef bacon before but I'm willing to try it. The other bacon was a better bargain I think.
Repackaged for convenience. No need to thaw out a whole package when I would eat only one slice or maybe use a couple of slices for flavoring in other meals.
The same with lunch meat. Frozen as individual portions for convenience.
These are for Mexican dishes I want to try or as an ingredient in a salad.
Ok, what's a Mexican meal without taco shells?
I got several produce bargains too. Corn, carrots, lettuce, onions, and celery that I'll be working on today and tomorrow.
Thinking ahead to this fall, I found some bargains for making pickles from the cucumbers I plan to grow in my backyard garden.
I couldn't pass up these for my sweet tooth attacks. These were about half price or less. Sugar free of course because I gotta watch my diet. These are for when I'm too busy to cook a sweet desert but the craving is strong. Actually, they're almost too sweet for my taste.
I found many more bargains like these.
And these.
And this.... which was my crock pot meal the next day. Vegetable beef barley soup using some of the barley I found on discount a few months ago.
Before I end this post I want to show you the progress on my backyard garden. Aren't they pretty? These are just waiting for me to fill with dirt and plants. Life is really looking up these days. I'm thinking it's going to take a lot of dirt to fill these boxes. 4' x 8' by 12" high. Yup, that's a lot of dirt.
My work won't get done until I go do it so now I must get off the internet. (type-talking to myself) I'm as happy as can be about finally getting a backyard garden again. This one is going to be much better than the one I had over 15 years ago thanks to a simple trade of quilting.
4 comments:
I don't like buying convenince food either, but totally understand with your "new" diet. I had to switch over to more convenince food due to my aniema. Though its gone, I easily get tired as I will go days being busy and not eat much. Both my husband and I loved your idea about the meatloaf muffins. Boy was that a light blub moment.
blessings, jilly
Hi Jilly, I often store my groceries in ways that help save money but it's also convenient for days when I simply don't want to prepare a healthy meal for one person.
How's the house clean out going? I saw all that empty floor space you've found. I love it!
Hi, I have two questions. I never freeze luncheon meat as I don't like how it is wet when thawed. How do you deal with your luncheon meat once it's thawed? Second question has to do with raised garden beds. It seems everyone is doing it and I just wondered why a raised bed is "better" than simply making your garden on the ground level.
Hi Joyful,
I thaw mine between cloth napkins. I don't particularly like the taste either but hate the waste if I don't freeze it. Cooking for one can be very wasteful when most of it goes bad. I sometimes grill the lunchmeat slightly on my stovetop grill to remove some of the water taste.
People use raised bed gardens when the ground soil is less than ideal for digging. In my case there are so many tree roots that it would be nearly impossible to dig a spot. Others might have underground pipes or some other reason they can't dig.
With a raised bed there is no digging or soil preparation required. No gargening tools necessary. It's like making a very large flower pot for the yard and filling it with soil already conditioned for planting.
A raised bed garden takes up much less space than a traditional garden because plants will be grown closer together.
There is an initial expense of creating these but once made they are easy to maintain year after year.
I first heard about raised beds back in the 70's and 80's on educational tv. Have a look at this site to learn more.
www.SquareFootGardening.com
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