The 30 Day Spending Fast : The Contents of Our House

I did a rough inventory of the contents of our refrigerators, freezers, and cabinets. I have determined that we probably would survive longer than 30 days. Which in the back of my mind kind of makes me happy in case aliens invade, or zombies emerge tomorrow.Then again I have to I ask the same question, who am I kidding?

The pantry, you will note that I have 4 bottles of BBQ sauce.

As my husband is from Kansas City and we do dine on something covered in BBQ sauce at least once a week. 

I hid the Hamburger Helper in this picture!

A fridge full of condiments and no food. How embarrassing.

Actually, there are 16 eggs and a gallon of milk in that fridge too. Oh, and 2 old lemons, 2 cucumbers, and a bell pepper.

The kitchen freezer. The bananas are for banana bread.

So much better if you freeze the bananas first!

The refrigerator that we used to refer to as the "party fridge" in the garage.

As you would probably suspect from the empty Taco Bell bag, and old sushi.

The garage freezer. Note when you have extra space in a freezer fill that space up with ice.

It will help you conserve energy. This is where I am storing my purees for the Deceptively Delicious recipes that I intend to try over the next 30 days. There are also 2 large bags of vegetable broth.

The other garage freezer. This is the freezer that husband refers to as his "hunting" freezer. Most of that meat is game meat. It is true, and I like it. Lucky for my husband!

Pretty sure I can handle any spill that could possibly occur.

I must have a large family.

Nope, just a lot of back stock of cleaning products and toiletries.

Frugal Strategies : How to Blanch and Shred Zucchini

I'm a girl who loves her sweets. So is my darling M. She really, really likes zucchini bread. I really, really love Zucchini Bread, the recipe I found here at http://www.allrecipes.com/, with 700+ reviews you really can't go wrong!

I also Blanche and shred my zucchini first. I feel that it increases the moisture content of the bread and it doesn't come out so tough and hard as my bread often did in the past.

I usually use the larger zucchini for this purpose since the yield is obviously greater with a bigger squash!

Preparation:

Wash, but do no not peel. Cut zucchini into 1”- 2" slices

Blanching :

Water-blanch for 3 - 8  minutes or steam-blanch for 1 to 5 minutes. It depends on the length and size of the zucchini that you are using. I usually blanch until the squash has just lost it's firmness.

Promptly cool in an ice bath and and drain.

Shredding:

Steam-blanch for 1 to 2 minutes until translucent. Shred with a cheese grater or food processor. Cool while draining.



Pack measured amounts into freezer bags and seal leaving at least 1/2 " of space.

Label and freeze.

Preparing Frozen Vegetable Puree from Deceptively Delicious

Using the methods that Jessica Seinfeld outlines in her book Deceptively Delicious I prepared the following :

1.                    A total of 5 1/2 cup servings and 1 1/4 cup serving of zucchini
2.                    A total of 2 1/2 cup servings of spinach

3.                    A total of 2 1/2 cup servings and 1 1/4 serving of of yellow squash

It was definitely a long project and lucky for me M took a 3 hour nap. I also still have a sink full of dishes. I hate having pots that you have to wash by hand!

I also plan to purchase sweet potatoes and my Mom is bringing over beets from her garden. I plan to roast and bake all at the same time in the next couple of days. I bet my house will really smell like fall!

Here a few tips based on what I learned from the process. Small zucchini work much better for pureeing. Larger squash will have larger firmer seeds.

The slices are about 1" thick.

I measured the puree into a measuring cup and then poured in the freezer bag.

I stretched the freezer bag over a clean coffee cup to avoid spills.

You know how they shake the blenders around a bit at smoothie shops? I discovered that it really helps when you are pureeing too.

My most important tip for you is not to overcrowd the vegetables. Ensure that each piece has ample space to be steamed evenly.

How to Deal with a Picky Eater : How I USED to Deal

How did I deal with my picky eater? Well has of right now I still allow her to be a picky eater. I give into her requests and demands. As a result she eats mostly fruit. In her entire "schedule" of food is usually: strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, blueberry waffles, eggs, strawberry cream cheese, gold fish crackers, honey nut Cheerios, yogurt, milk, macaroni and cheese, Spaghetti O's, and cheese. Cheese! Oh my does she love cheese. Which brought me to Deceptively Delicious, my pediatrician mentioned that one of the recipes called for white bean puree in the macaroni and cheese. That alone sold me on the book. I thought about buying it several times but as usual the book fell into my hands.

I am convinced that I can sneak the foods that we love and want to share into what our daughter will actually eat. I can remember really not liking the texture of some foods that I LOVE today, so I think if she can get used to the flavor of some of the vegetables we can eventually bring her around! Oh and meat too, M will not eat meat either. Unless you consider meat to be lunch meat. Because she will take a few nibbles of ham here and there. So I intend to sneak some meat into her diet too!

Lucky for me most of my vegetables that I steamed and pureed were grown in my parent's organic garden, however, the vegetables that used are readily available right now!

My first attempt at sneaking beans into M's food was a complete fail. I used an entire can of garbanzo bean puree in a box of Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese. M knew immediately that there was something up with her favorite dinner time dish. She refused to even scoop one spoonful. My husband said she even called it "caca" Spanish for poop! After I actually READ the recipe I found that it only called for 1/2 cup. Voila! That probably would have gotten her to eat her beans. Next time!

However, my variation on the recipe in Mrs. Seinfeld's book will be based on what I have on hand at home. So most of my takes on her recipes will vary!

Confessions of a Couponholic : When "Saving" Becomes Spending

I desperately need to confess. I'm addicted to saving money. I scour the Sunday paper for deals. I can't wait to save 40% on my grocery bill, or my daughters clothes. We have a good supply on pretty much everything and anything in the house and my cabinets are stocked full of food. Yet, something compels me to continue to buy, buy, buy. Am I stocking up for the Apocalypse here? Hopefully not, yet I buy even when I already have something on hand at home. I'm not really sure why. It's not as if I am not going to be able to run to one of the many stores within short driving distance if I run out of Italian dressing!

I'm on a mission to cut the waste out. I vow for the next 30 days that I will not buy a single thing unless we truly are in need of the item. This goes for ALL shopping including quick items such as drinks at the grocery store and the gas station.

I had to go on medical leave  recently and as a result I REALLY need to watch my spending since short term disability does not give you complete pay. So I VOW not to spend for the next 30 days! I have done a rough inventory of the items of our pantry, 2 refrigerators (It's true), and 2 freezers (Yes, really we have that much food in this small suburban abode.)

I estimate that I will be able to complete several meals with the items I have on hand. However, while I am doing the best to empty the contents of my kitchen I will ALSO be doing my best to maintain a healthy menu and one that my daughter will actually eat. Thus, I picked up a copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld and steamed and pureed a large amount of vegetables today. I'm going to give her strategies a whirl since I have concluded that I can not allow Madeline to be a picky eater when there is so much good food in this world to be eaten!

Fab Grocery Deals!

It's a deal gone by.. and one I should have shared. I came across a coupon for $5.00 off 5 Healthy Choice meals at denverpost.com. I don't usually eat frozen meals since they are pricey and I prefer to take leftovers to work but I printed it.


I was shopping at my local King Soopers store yesterday and came across the Healthy Choice French bread pepperoni pizzas on close-out for $1.75 each. Of course I bought 5! With my coupon it was $3.75 for all of them! Hooray!! Perfect for those days when I'm running around like crazy!

There is a coupon for $1.00 off of two at their website now!

http://www.healthychoice.com/news-special-offers/

I'm Back!!!!

Life has been incredibly busy for us over past few months. I do wish I would have shared our holiday money saving ideas. There is always this year!

Plans for this year: (I'm not going to call them resolutions as they are almost 1 month late!)

Organize closets
Clean out Garage
Spend more time outside
Give more
Expect less
Eat 1 piece of fruit per day
Save $$ for our BIG trip

I also hope to live each day inspired, and to give Thanks to our Lord.

Here is to blogging in 2010!