A Frugal Life

My kids get up in the morning and pour themselves a bowl of Apple Jacks which cost me 75 cents a box.  They top it with 99 cents a gallon milk.  We have 10 cent Cup of Noodles in the cupboard for a quick lunch.  The freezer is full of  15 pounds of ground beef, purchased for $1 a pound.  It also has 8 pounds of chicken thighs and drumsticks purchased at 79 cents a pound.  All of these items were purchased in the last 2 weeks, and I didn't clip a single coupon.

My trick?  I shop clearance.  All of these items were near or past the sell by or better by date.  Here are a few tips for shopping in this area.  Dry packaged goods like cereal and noodles have a better by date.  It is not an expiration date.  The company just doesn't guarantee it past that date.  The Apple Jacks had a better by date of December 2011, but they taste fine.  Everyone (except me, as I don't care for flavored cereal) has been eating and enjoying it. 

Milk is a bit trickier.  Most stores will mark it down when they have several gallons (or half gallons) that are within a few days of their expiration date.  Most milk will last for 1 week past expiration.  Keep in mind the higher the fat content, the faster it will taste bad.  Also milk in plastic containers will taste bad quicker due to letting light in.  Adding a pinch of salt when you open in will help it taste good longer.  Also, don't be afraid to freeze it.  I often open the container, pour off some milk into a cup or other container for immediate use, add a pinch of salt and freeze it.  The lower the fat, the better it freezes.

Finally, meat is simple.  If it's almost at it's sell by date, or at it.  Cook it up or freeze it.  I have learned that ground beef is the trickiest.  If you are hoping to use some of it in a way that would require you to completely defrost the frozen package first, do that right away.  By that I mean, I froze 2 loaves of meatloaf.  Pre form your hamburger patties, or mix up your meat balls.  You can even just cook it up and freeze the cooked meat if you'd like.  Other meats defrost well, but ground beef can taste off when exposed to air, and the closer it is to the sell by date, the less time you will have to work with the meat.  I often freeze the meat squished thin in the bag so I can just cook it from frozen for meals where it's not formed.

What are your clearance tips?

Menu Plan Monday again!!

Something about Fall, my favorite season, makes me a menu planner!  Today is exceptionally crazy, as I've admitted defeat and we are bug bombing today.  The good news is this will not only kill fleas but earwigs and flies!  The bad news is, that means the kids, cats, hedgehog and our dinner have to be out of the house!  More good news, they are all going to my Mother in Law's house, except the hedgehog and the outdoor cat.  So she will be able to fix her plate before dinner comes home with us.

Monday: This was supposed to be Sunday's meal, but I made lasagna on Saturday, and the soup on Sunday, so we bumped the roast to today.
Roast, potatoes, carrots and onions in the crock pot

Tuesday:
Tacos using leftover roast shredded and leftover beans from last week.

Wednesday:
Chicken Strips, macaroni and cheese, salad

Thursday: I'm working at the Pillars Party, so dinner is for Dana and the kids.
Papa Murphy's Perfect Pizza (using the coupon)

Friday:
Hamburgers, french fries and veggies

Saturday:
Huevos Rancheros

Sunday:
Free day

What's on your meal plan this week?

A Meal Plan at Last!

Summer's seem to be an unscheduled, go with the flow time for us.  It's something that definitely does not work during Fall, when Kaia is in school (and Morgan is enrolled in the Virtual Academy), and Dana and I are both busy at work.

With everything that has been going on this month, we haven't left that summer schedule behind, and it shows!  The house is a disaster, meals are last minute, and the grocery budget is out of control.  It is time to stop this insanity, and get some order back into our lives.  Step one is a meal plan!

Monday: Connecticut Beef Supper and green beans.  This is a Betty Crocker Recipe that is a favorite.  It's sliced beef (any inexpensive steak cut works) browned with onions, then cooked with thin sliced potatoes in a cream of mushroom, sour cream and milk mixture.  Topped with shredded cheese and crushed wheat cereal.

Tuesday: Spaghetti and meatballs.  The sauce is going to cook in the crock pot all day, so when I get home, all I need is to cook noodles.

Wednesday: Pinto Beans and Ham in the crock pot.

Thursday: S.O.S. with fruit

Friday: Chili Dogs

Saturday: Potato Soup

Sunday: Roast or leftovers day

What are you eating this week?

Who Said Healthy Food Costs Too Much?

I always read articles that say our obesity problem is linked to low socio-economic status.  These poor people with little money just can't afford to eat decent food.  Um, B.S.  Is it expensive to buy organic, or processed all natural products?  Yes.  Is it expensive to eat steak, many types of fish, and chicken breasts?  Yes, for the most part.  It is not expensive to buy fresh meats and produce.  If people buy in season, and buy less expensive cuts that may need more prep work or cooking time, there is no added expense.

The truth: People are lazy.  They can't be bothered to deal with a whole chicken, or trimming the fat of a cut of beef.  I went to the store last night with the goal of refilling our produce drawer.  Our neighbor has brought us several boxes and bags of produce recently from the food bank, but with 4 kids, it's gone in a very short time.  So for proof that buying produce in season isn't expensive, you can see what I purchased last night in the above photo. 
Here is the cost breakdown:
2 Jalapenos $.012
Romaine Lettuuce $0.88
2 Red Bell Peppers $1.00
1.4 lbs Roma Tomatoes $1.09
2 Nectarines (purchased because a twin grabbed and started eating one) $1.12
1 Cucumber $0.44
3 Ears of Corn $0.90
.54 lbs Green Beans $0.75
1.95 lbs Green Grapes $2.50
Grand Total: $9.24


Not even $10 for all of that.  And none of that is in season here yet, we had a late growing season, so this is all up from California.  I expect prices to drop further once we have local produce available.  How do you eat healthy on a budget?

Shredded Beef

Here is a super simple recipe that makes a good 2 to 3 meals.  And different meals at that.
Step One is add a can of diced tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped garlic, a bit of cumin, and a bit of hot sauce  (I prefer using a hot sauce that isn't super hot, and has other spices in it) to a slow cooker. 

Step Two add an arm roast (or was it shoulder?)  Just ask your butcher which roast cut is best to use for shredded meat. 

Cook the meat on low all day long.  Then in the evening, shred it with a fork.  It should practically fall apart for you. 

Meal one:  Burritos with Spanish Rice.  Take 2 cups of the liquid from the slow cooker, and boil it in a pot.  Add 1 cup of rice, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.    Then take your favorite kind of tortillas, add non fat refried beans, shredded meat, rice, avocado and fresh spinach.  Or if your family is less adventurous, just add your usual fixings to it and enjoy!


Meal two: Beef Sandwiches. Put the meat in a pot.  Add about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and 3 T of steak sauce.  You don't want to coat the meat and have lots of sauce, you just want to add flavor.  Also add some mesquite or BBQ spice mix.  Heat through.  Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce, pickles, onions, cheese and tomatoes.

Hanging In

It never slows down at our house!  Alice is healing quite nicely.  After several days of her destroying the carrier by spilling water and spreading litter, we decided to let her have Kaia's room to roam in.  It's a few days earlier than the vet recommended, however she was just so darn active.

I'm busy preparing to leave for New Orleans.  Dana and I spent last weekend really cleaning up the house, so now it's just keeping it picked up before I leave.  I also will be buying plenty of quick and easy meals for Dana and Kaia as they bach' it.  The boys will be staying with Grammy and Papa, and I'm pretty sure the Bobos will forget all about me while I'm gone.  They love Grammy and Papa. 

And in the midst of all this, I got really sick.  I ended up on antibiotics and off my fast.  I'm starting to feel better now, but have a horrible barking cough.  So with the sickness has come lots and lots of sleep.  And that my friends, is a good thing.

10 Days on a Daniel Fast

If my Vision Board post prompted you to look into the Daniel Fast, you may have wondered, "Just what do you eat?"  Honestly there are quite a few things that can be eaten.  Sadly though, they are things we have become unaccustomed to eating as our main diet here in North America.  I thought I would share the menu from my first 10 days on the Daniel Fast. 

First, let me say that I was a vegetarian for over 6 years, but never a vegan.  I could always eat cheese and eggs, and only during my yeast free diet have I had to give up bread and sugar.  This has been a struggle, but that is the nature of it.  A fast isn't supposed to be fun or easy, it's about persistence, devotion, and setting aside oneself for a time.  Do I plan to fast again?  Sure, but I'm not sure I will do a 21 day Daniel Fast again.  This study has helped me to learn what the Bible teaches regarding fasting, and it has helped strengthen my faith and my prayer life.  It's definitely a great way to start off a new year.

Menu
Sunday-
Oatmeal and half an apple
Salad without dressing and a yam
Whole wheat spaghetti with a tomato mushroom sauce and spinach

Monday-
Oatmeal with banana
Split pea soup, Ry Krisp with hummus and fresh veggies
Leftover spaghetti and spinach

Tuesday-
Natural peanut butter on celery
Split pea soup, Ry Krisp with hummus
Pan fried potatoes, peas and a yam

Wednesday-
Pear and half a banana
Split pea soup
Stir fried veggies over brown rice with soy sauce

Thursday-
Banana and an apple
Mixed nuts, raisins and a pear
Black bean soup cup

Friday-
No breakfast
2 pears and a few bites of split pea soup
Vegan nachos (fried corn tortilla with fat free refried beans, olives, onion, lettuce and salsa)

Saturday-
Banana
Leftover nachos
Salad with kidney beans

Sunday-
Banana
Vegetarian chili and salad
Veggie soup

Monday-
Banana
Leftover chili
Stir fried veggies over brown rice

Tuesday-
Oatmeal with 1/2 jar of banana baby food
Leftover chili and soup
Pistachios
Boca burger with mustard, pickle and onion and tater tots

Snacks have been fresh veggies and fruit, but I didn't record each snack.  Some days I felt horrible, and therefore ate very little.  The detoxing my system wasn't pleasant, but I think it was a good thing. Follow this link for some more info on the fast.

Grandma Sarah's Rolls

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is just days away!  I am really looking forward to watching the boys eat all the yummy food for the first time. 

I'm bringing rolls and deviled eggs to our get together.  The roll recipe is one I remember helping my grandma make many years ago.  I found her recipe in the cookbook I received for my birthday a few years ago.  Always a frugal woman, it was written on an old calendar that had been cut up into a notepad.  This particular calendar was from 1959.  I can't wait to taste these rolls again!

Use What You Have Menu Plan

In our home there is someone in charge of the budget.  It's that person's responsibility to make sure there is enough for all the bills and all the extras we may have planned each week.  Unfortunately, that person is an airhead, and sometimes I forget they forget things like fuel or prescriptions in that planning.

This is one of those weeks, so I created a menu plan that will use what we have in the house with only a few $'s spent at the store.  We have plenty of apples to snack on and for cooking.  We also received some more potatoes yesterday, so I may do something more with them.

Sunday: Breakfast Casserole
Monday: Spaghetti, marinara sauce, bread
Tuesday: Tacos, beans and rice (beans and rice are in the freezer, and shredded steak cooked in the crock for the taco meat)
Wednesday: Barbeque chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh veggies
Thursday: Beans in the crockpot with homemade rolls
Friday: BBQ Pork and fried rice

What we'll need: dried beans, spaghetti sauce, and milk for a total of $5 at the grocery store. 

Lunches are bologna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, salads, and cheese and crackers for Kaia and Dana.  I eat leftovers.  Breakfast is cereal for the kids and Dana eats cereal alternating with sausage and egg. 

On pay day, I plan to do some stocking up!  Our freezers are empty of meat!  I like to have at least a few pounds of ground beef, some inexpensive steak cuts and a whole chicken in the freezer.  But, as you can see from the menu, we have chicken thighs, 1 steak, and the sausage is in the fridge.  I'm hoping Wednesday's ads have some good prices!

What are you eating this week?

Oh Rats!

Enough serious posts about first birthday milestones, religion in politics and world food consumption.  Today let's talk about rat sandwiches.

You may remember how I love rat sandwiches.  In case you don't, I'll remind you.  This summer Morgan dreamed that I ate a rat sandwich, and he was very upset over my poor choice in food.  He lectured me for days about eating good foods, and rats and mice were not good food.

Apparently, my love of rat sandwiches has caused me to feed them to others.  This week Morgan had an upset stomach and when his grandma asked him why he explained just what I had done. 

We were driving and I spotted a dead rat in the road.  Naturally being the good mother I am, I stopped and picked up the dead rat, took it home and made Morgan a rat sandwich.  I even made him eat it.  And that is why he had a tummy ache. 

Hungry Planet

My grandma forwarded an email that had photos and information from the book Hungry Planet.  I'm amazed at what we eat, and am also inspired by what can feed a large family.  There is definitely a middle ground where families are eating well, and inexpensively.  There is also the extravagant, and the sparse.  I've placed a hold on the book from my library, and I've been enjoying the photos at Time.com.
What the World Eats

Jumbalaya My Way

This recipe originated in an Emeril Lagasse book. I of course want to use all of the ingredients, so I tweaked it and made it my own. The result is an inexpensive, quick and easy recipe, perfect for a busy evening. At one time the whole family loved this. Now everyone, but Morgan will eat it.

Jumbalaya
2-3 links of andouille or spicy smoked sausage
1 stalk of celery
1 green pepper
1/2 of a medium onion
1 cup of rice
bay leaf (optional)
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (or use a Cajun seasoning mix)

Chop the first 4 ingredients. First in just a small amount of oil, cook the sausage in a pot at Medium-High heat. As it starts to lightly brown add the veggies. Cook all of it for another 5 minutes. Then add the rice, and stir it in so that it browns a bit, and be sure to scrape up any bits of sausage.

Add 2 cups of water, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Add a very tiny amount of cayenne or a bit more of the Cajun seasoning. You can always add more later to make it spicier, or leave out the cayenne altogether and let the spiciness of the sausage flavor the rice. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, put a lid on the pot and in 20 minutes you have a fantastic meal!

The Kihn Sandwich

I discovered the true proof that Kaia and Morgan are Kihns last week.  Never mind that they have the Kihn temper and look just like a Kihn, it's all in the sandwich. Kaia and Morgan have made the sandwich their new favorite snack.  The Kihns all love this sandwich, I have not tried it, and because I'd rather lick a frog than eat bologna, I have no plans to try it.  Perhaps you are braver than I?

Kihn Sandwich
2 slices white bread (the fluffy stuff with no nutritional value)
Sandwich Spread (the kind with relish in it)
Peanut Butter
Lettuce
Cheese (American is preferred, but you can use cheddar)
Bologna

On one slice of bread, spread Sandwich Spread, on the other spread Peanut Butter.  In between the slices of  bread add lettuce, cheese and bologna.  Enjoy... or if you are me, pass it on to a family member that will eat it.

Progress

Things are moving along at the Kihn house!

The boys turned 11 months old yesterday, and have started taking several steps at a time.  In no time, we will have 2 walkers to keep up with.  Their 1st Birthday is just around the corner, and I already have their Halloween costumes planned.

Morgan, who no longer likes to be called Mo, has slept 2 of the past 3 nights in a bed other than Dana's and mine.  Both he and Kaia have been going to bed at 8:30 pm without much fuss as well.  Another huge milestone, he has started going into the bathroom when he needs to poop.  He's not using the toilet yet, but it is the first step to being potty trained according to the method I'm following.  I owe a huge thank you to Mrs. Mordecai for sending me the article on this way of training.

Kaia is cruising through 2nd grade.  She is reading 3rd grade level books, doing really well on her math homework when she applies herself, and has already been to one birthday party this school year. 

Dana and I are enjoying having our bed to ourselves, and having a quiet house after all the kids are in bed.

The cats still do not like Nemesis, and Nemesis loves to terrorize the cats.  This is just one of the photos I snapped during the 5 minutes Cinnamon and Nemesis got along.

My second 24 hours wasn't nearly as easy as the first.  I didn't want to eat my foods, and everything I thought to make for dinner had something that wasn't allowed. I made fried rice, bbq pork and egg rolls for Dana and the kids to eat.  I did cheat and had a few scrap pieces of bbq pork, but only because I wanted the super hot mustard.  I love that stuff.    I had roasted chicken thighs and broccoli.  This morning I had leftover cold chicken and Ry Krisps with cream cheese for breakfast.  For lunch, I met my brother at Pizza Hut for their buffet.  I couldn't eat the pizza or pasta, but I enjoyed 2 plates of salad.  Tonight I think we'll have meatloaf for dinner.  Some of the grumpiness I can tell is hormones, and some is sugar withdrawl.  I also remembered that I only did the 2 week diet last time, because I figured out quite quickly my trigger foods.    So I will likely do the same as last time.  I will add back in the foods I know I can eat, and stay away from the sugary stuff and the sweet baked goods which are usually what get me the worst.

The first 24 hours

Last time I was on the Yeast Free diet the first 24 hours was hell.  I don't say that lightly.  I really felt as if my body was shutting down and my head would explode.  This time the first 24 hours was accompanied only by a minor headache.  I feel pretty darn good, and sticking to this diet has been easy.  Only a few times have I had to stop myself.  The candy dish full of tootsie rolls and dots in my office is tempting, but I always passed by.  This morning packing Dana and Kaia's lunches, I caught myself just before popping a chip and then a piece of cheese in my mouth.  I wasn't aware how much I mindlessly snacked until today. 

So, just what am I eating?  Here is my menu starting Monday evening:
Dinner- Roasted chicken thigh and leg
Mashed potatoes
Gravy made with corn starch, water and chicken broth
Green salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and a tiny amount of ranch dressing for flavor

Breakfast- Oat Groats (oats that haven't been rolled) with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
Small amounts of sugar are allowed, when they are consumed with a whole grain.  Your body will digest it like a complex carb because you consume it with the complex carbs.

Lunch- Leftover chicken breast (2 oz)
Baked potato with cottage cheese on top
Handful of cherry tomatoes

Snack- Corn nuts Not the healthiest, but the ingredients are corn, corn oil and salt.  Really satisfied my craving for something crunchy and salty.

Dinner- Eggplant Super Soup (recipe below)
Rye Krisps with cream cheese

Breakfast- 1.5 cups of oat groats with butter and 1 packet of sugar

I've been drinking 2 cups of coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day.  Lunch today is leftovers from dinner last night.  The soup is an excellent hearty recipe, easy to make, and was easy to convert to fit my diet.  The recipe is from a Sunset Cookbook, but I as always, have considerably altered the recipe.

Eggplant Supper Soup
3/4 pound of ground beef
1/2 an onion chopped
1 small eggplant cubed
1 large clove of garlic
1 large can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice
2 cubes of beef bullion
2 large cans full of water
6-8 oz of brown rice penne pasta (Hodgson Mills makes excellent rice pasta)

Brown the ground beef and add the chopped onion near the end of the cooking.  Add eggplant, garlic and tomatoes to the pot.  Then add the cubes of bullion and water.  Add or reduce water depending on desired thickness.  I wanted this fairly thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Then add your pasta and cook until tender.   

The eggplant soaks up all the flavors of the soup and makes this a delicious and hearty meal all by itself.  Dana, Kaia and Morgan ate Saltine crackers with their soup.  Brendon, Bryce and I had the Rye Krisps.  It was a great way to use the free eggplant I received, and no one turned up their nose!

Back To Health 4 weeks of Yeast Control

I've finally had it.  I'm tired of being tired, achy, and fatigued.  I'm tired of not being able to type because my hands are tingly and weak.  I'm tired of falling asleep on the couch because I'm so worn out at the end of the day.  I'm tired of wearing one size of clothing one week, and being at least a size bigger the next due to intestinal bloating.  I'm tired of my allergies going non-stop, in spite of the loratadine I take daily.

There are many foods that can trigger pain and fatigue.  Most programs and books recommend I talk to my doctor about an elimination diet.  Then I would cut almost all foods out, then slowly add back in to figure out my triggers.  The thing is, yeast or candida sensitivity is always on the list of triggers. It's been shown women with endometriosis struggle with candida sensitivity.  People with fibromyalgia often struggle with it.  And my allergist diagnosed me with a candida sensitivity.  So it makes sense for me to use my already prescribed yeast control program first.  If it brings relief, as it has in the past, then I know that there aren't any other trigger foods.  If it doesn't bring relief, then I can begin eliminating other trigger foods.

You may wonder why I ever stopped following the program, if it worked well the first time.  Honestly the program is designed so you can add back in foods, and just make some changes to your normal diet once the yeast is under control.  The problem is, it felt so restrictive the first time, although looking at it again, it's not.  Also the long term program allows you to add back in most foods.  Just not in a large quantity, and not all of them.  It's too easy to just start adding in everything, and the icky feeling from it comes on so slowly you don't realize how sick you are getting.

So join me over the next 4 weeks as I follow the program, outlined in Back To Health by Dennis W Remington, MD and Barbara Higa Swasey, RD.
The four main concepts are:
1. Most food from plant sources has natural fungal inhibitors.
2. Carbohydrates should be eaten as long as they are complex carbohydrates.
3. Avoid foods that contain yeast and fungi.
4. Eat enough food.
So for the first phase, I can eat the following:
All meats, fish, poultry and eggs.
All vegetables, including scrubbed potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and avocados.
All legumes.
All whole grains, including barley, corn, millet, oats, brown rice and wheat.
Whole grain muffins, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, rice cakes, whole wheat tortillas, and corn tortillas.
Hot or cold whole grain cereals.
Butter and cold pressed oils.
Milk, plain yogurt (I don't like flavored anyway), buttermilk, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and cottage cheese.
Catsup, mustard, mayo, miso and soy sauce may be used sparingly.

Foods to eliminate:
All sugars and sugar containg foods.
White flour, refined grains.
Yeast- yeast breads, pastries, crackers...
All cheese, except for those listed above
All fruit and fruit juices
All coffee, tea, herbal teas (I will not be following this part, as I found relief the first time while drinking coffee.  I will limit my coffee intake, but not eliminate.)
Leftovers that have been in the fridge more than 2-3 days.
Obvious fungi- mushrooms
Peanuts and peanut products
Processed meats- lunch meat, bacon, ham, corned beef
Vinegar soaked products- pickles, relish, sauerkraut
All artificially sweetened drinks and foods

After 2 weeks on this diet, I can begin to add unsweetened cooked fruits.

So now you have my plan.  Does it suck? Yeah, kind of.  I like fresh fruit, and enjoy cheese.  But we live in a valley full of produce, and I can eat all the veggies I want. 

Stay tuned for my menus.  Already I have oat groats cooking on the stove for breakfasts and lunches.  Tonight I think I'll cook up some brown rice.

Accidental Garden

Golden Cherry Tomatoes

I planned my garden, I used my mother's day gift card to buy tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, squash and cucumber, but they looked like they always do.  Wilting.  Then when we got home from our short vacation in Seattle I turned the water on, then fell asleep and forgot all about it.  I expected a high water bill from that night of indiscretion, but what I received was amazing.  My tomatoes really responded to all the water.  I have the nicest tomato plants I've ever grown!  Even now in September, I'm still picking lots of cherry tomatoes.  We're eating them in salsa, salads, and just as a snack.

I have learned one little Tomato Law.  The plants you stake well will not produce.  The plants that end up in between staked plants, will grow abundantly.  Go figure!

Very late jalapenos, hoping the weather holds

Super Simple Swiss Chard

The kids and I ate Swiss Chard for the first time ever on Sunday. A large cooler of chard had been brought in and set on the Harvest Table at church.  Kaia wanted to take some home, so I encouraged her to fill one of the small bags.   I looked up several recipes online, and they were all similar.  Saute in olive oil and garlic then add a bit of balsamic vinegar.  I never follow directions, so here is the recipe I created.  I was surprised to find that it tasted really good, and the kids even finished what I gave to them.

1 teaspoon of bacon grease
4 or 5 big chard leaves with most of the stem removed
2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing
Saute chard in the bacon grease in a pan until the chard is heated and softens a bit.  Then add the salad dressing and enjoy!

Onions and more

I've mentioned our fantastic next door neighbors before, the kids fondly call them Papa and Grandma, Kaia and recently Mo have attended Sabbath services with them, and they are always helping us out.  Recently we've been gifted with an abundance of produce from them.

Their church runs a food bank, and when a large amount of produce is donated, they take what they can distribute before it spoils for the food bank, and the rest is given to members of the congregation (to use and distribute to others).  So Carl and Myke often bring some to share with us.  Recently we've received 2 heads of iceberg lettuce, apples, grapes, yellow potatoes, a big bag of chopped broccoli and 6 onions.

The lettuce we quickly ate, and the apples and grapes go in lunches and are used for snacks.  I love yellow potatoes for frying, soups and casseroles.  The broccoli is easy to use, especially since it's all cut and ready. 

But the onions... I love french onion soup, but don't think I could convince the rest of the family to eat it.  I could make onion rings, but I'm really trying to eat healthier.  Salsa is always a good option, but tomato prices are high.  So tell me, what do you like to make that uses onions?

It's Monday

I have a post all ready to go, I just need the photos I've emailed from my phone to complete it.  They say they have sent successfully, but they haven't. 

I should also be posting a menu plan since it's Monday.  I've come to the conclusion that without a plan, and a shopping trip where I stock up on the items needed for the plan, our spending on food gets out of control.  I make too many trips to the store, where I realize that we could use X, Y, and Z.  Add to that an oops, where I thought I was getting the correct ground beef at Safeway, buy one and get one free.  Turns out I didn't.  Instead I spent over $20 on ground beef.  At least it will last us for awhile.

So any menu suggestions for me this week?