Kitchen

[Winifred]

Fixed some orange chicken with a multitude of veggies in the WOK - that was for lunch. Had the same thing for dinner as I made enough for more than me.

Got stinking hot again today - 105 - not just stinking hot but sticky hot. Ugh. Do not like that stuff.

Do not have tons of energy, in fact, have very little energy but today was the 20th radiation treatment. Only 10 more to go - I hope so anyway. Am in no pain whatsoever but very difficult to pick up one foot and then another - I am tired.

Hope all are doing fine

[hellie jo]

Am making pork chops with some rice and gravy.Will have either corn or peas,haven"t decided yet. Hope everyone has a nice day.

[mousiegirl]

Last night was steak sandwiches on crusty rolls for DH, and salad.  I mixed some of the chimichurri sauce into some mayo and spread it on the rolls, he loved it.

Tonight will be prawn salad with croutons, still have half a baguette to make them with.  My prawns will be fried with a light cornstarch coating, his will be sauteed.  It's so hot here that salad will be great.

[Keybra]

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@RedTop wrote:

Here we are 13 days into the month, and I’ve only cooked 3 meals!  

The girls just haven’t been home enough for a family meal.   I have been cleaning out our fridge freezer leftovers, which have been enough food for me, and my husband.   I will start restocking in October, with the goal to stay out of stores during flu season.   

Trucker daughter is home for a nice break, and has requested cowboy beans, fried potatoes and cornbread for supper, with chow chow, and onions.   

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@RedTop  I live in a very cold part of the world. I would like very much to restock the kitchen/pantry/meats but don't know how to do it for the 5 months ahead. 

Do you make up a some what casual list ? Do you get powdered milk, canned milk ? 

What do you do for bread and cold cuts etc ? I would be willing to try but don't know how. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[RedTop]

 @Keybra

I’ve been stocking like this for nearly 10 years, so I don’t need lists, I just know what and how much to buy.   

My advice is to look at the staple food items you have on hand right now, and think in terms of the future meals you will make using those items in a period of several months, and buy accordingly.  If you are one of those people who rush to the store when bad weather is predicted, think about what you usually buy on that trip, and buy what you can early.  

I usually make my last big grocery run for the winter a week before Christmas.   The shelves in my pantry will be full of canned vegetables, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, chicken noodle and tomato soup, evaporated milk, peanut butter, jelly, pork and beans, fruit, dry beans, rice, various pasta, canned chicken, Spam, tuna, salmon, coffee, tea, crackers, spices, oatmeal, cream of wheat, flour, sugar, cornmeal, corn starch.   I also stock butter, cheese, frozen broccoli, cauliflower, peas, bacon, sausage, ham, cube pork steaks, pork chops, whole pork loin, chuck roasts, ground chuck, London broil, cube steak, and turkey and chicken breasts.   I usually start the winter with 100 lbs of potatoes and onions in the garage.   I usually have 6-8 dozen eggs in my overflow refrigerator in December.   I always have loaves of bread in my freezer.   

My goal with stocking the house, is to stay out of the stores “as much as possible” during flu season, and especially once the weather is bad.   I cook every single day, from what is on hand.   I do not make unnecessary trips to the store, but will make quick stops if I’m already out.  Teacher daughter is out every day, husband is back to getting out twice a week, so they pick up milk, bread, lettuce, etc as needed.   Shopping this way saves me a lot of money and time.

[mousiegirl]

@Keybra   @RedTop  has me beat, lol, but she cooks for four often. I will tell you what I stock.

I always have lots of frozen chicken thighs, breasts, and wings, also prawns, scallops, loaves of bread, bagels, and rolls, I buy at Costco so have to keep what I don't use at the moment in the freezer, Rastelli's pork ribeye steaks, mixed beef burgers, packages of a variety of sausages, also breakfast sausages, bacon, all freeze very well.  I find that if the meat doesn't come in it's own sealed pack, wrap each piece of meat or fish in saran wrap then put into freezer bags, no freezer burn this way, and all keeps fresh.

I process basil and freeze in olive oil in containers for soups or pesto, also salsa verde that I make from the tomatillos I grow.  I freeze bell peppers and chili peppers that I grow, also Italian green beans.

I always have peas in the freezer, and containers of cooked beans that I use for refried beans.  We eat a lot of tacos which I make from leftover grilled meat, grill a package of three-four steaks, freeze what we don't eat at that meal, so have nice leftovers.  

In Winter, I will make several varieities of soup to freeze, which will last  for months.

I freeze butter also, works well, always have it on hand for baking or meals.

I buy boxed tomatoes so store up on those, pasta, rice, also chicken stock, condiments, oils, everything I will need to bake around Christmas, you get the idea.

DH picks up fresh produce as needed, milk, eggs, if I run out of the Costco dairy, and won't be going back for a while.

So, stock what you like and use often.

[hellie jo]

For dinner DH will do brats on the grill and I will make a macaroni salad.Weather here is nice,in the 70"s with a slight breeze.We have had nice weather all week.Having a lot of leaves falling.Everyone have a good week-end,take care.

[mousiegirl]

Last night was bruschetta, tomatoes and mozzarella, cannelloni beans, and fried eggplant, all with fresh herbs and lots of garlic.  I ate the beans and eggplant, left the rest, and one each of the beans and eggplant, for DH, a cheese fiend, lol.

Tonight will be grilled Rastelli's mixed meat beef burgers, I have to be very hungry to eat a burger,feeling full probably because I ate so much of the beans, lol, and salad, I will skip the meat.  

Yesterday and today the weather has been cool and sunny, but the heat will return this week, hissss boooo.

[Winifred]

Here I go with my weird dinners again. Yesterday was a super busy day, church and then going to Aldi's to pick up a couple of their HUGE pizzas to take to a friend who just moved - AI knew she would be tired. She works full time yet has her Mother in her home, her sister and three children who belong to a friend. She is a super person and with all of this is very active in her Union at work - I give her credit. Figured she would be exhausted as I guess her family did little or nothing to help - she has a multitude of sisters, brothers, etc - what a shame. She has a nice home and everyone is excited about it and her Mother is in hog heaven. I got lost trying to find the house but finally managed. Whew. Of course it was three cities over.  On the trip up also stopped to get wrapping paper to wrap my great great grandaughter's BD gifts which have to be shipped to colorado. My dinner - oh yes, also stopped at the veggie stand on the way home and of course got some huge avocados. So had an avocado sandwich and potato chips AND some delicious little golden grape tomatoes - they were so sweet. That did it for me.

We are heading into more 100 degree plus weather - Can't stand that stuff. Noticed late yesterday some of the feeders need refilling and also need to clean the bird bath and put i fresh water. How can those birds mess those water fountains up so horribly?

Back to my radiation treatment this morning - probably do some veggies and chicken strips in the WOK for dinner - love that combo and you can change it simply by using various sauces. I.E. sweet 'n sour, etc.

Have a great day everyone!!!

[Keybra]

@RedTop and @mousiegirl     I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to respond to my post. I immediately took notes and have been working on my list for the last few days. The kids are little, my DH eats for 2 so , this first year, I will make out a menu loosely based on 5 dinners per day. We have to buy an extra freezer and have a big enough refridge, I am very excited and will have to pick a day to go to BJ. Maybe 3-5 trips.

I cannot afford all the meats that you get @mousiegirl and I don't do my own freezing and stuff. We eat from the garden while it is producing but I could make and freeze my own spaghetti sauce which can be used many ways. Next year ! 

I want to have fish and seafood maybe 6 times per year. I AM SO EXCITED,

!