I took out of the freezer…

Jan 3, 2012 by pearsonsprogress    4 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, recipes, saving money

today…. the 3rd of January… I will continue with the help from the Lord and all who pass through my house… to REDUCE by food storage.. NEW plans are in the works.. NEW goals… NEW ideas, NEW stirrings….

so… I took out of the freezer:
1 small pk of cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas for those who don’t understand the garbanzo word)
1 small pk of cooked turkey from Thanksgiving.

hmmmm… what would YOU do with these?

I’m going to make a rice with garbanzos… & coconut milk…. then… hmmm… a gravy o turkey with veg… a Thai twist? yeah… I’m ON THAT!! Thanks Anita for your Thai influence. She is such a creative cook!

Day #24 food challenge continues… 6 more days…

Dec 5, 2011 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, saving money

December 5th, 2011~Monday & I still have 2,74€!

I’ve learned that my meals don’t need to be extravagant.

As I searched my pantry & fridge, I found several cans of tomato sauce, plenty of eggs & rice.  At first I thought they might be good for lunches, but then I realized that John would love that Spanish classic meal of rice (with garlic), tomato sauce and a fried egg on top for any meal. That’s not even close to what I usually make for dinner since our dinners are usually the meat-potato-vegetable variety.

But in the spirit of the grocery challenge; not to mention eating less meat, I’ll  serve this  for dinner one night.  It doesn’t seem like much of a dinner, but it will be a hit!  Preparation will be quick,  our meal will be enjoyable, and clean-up easy too.

I realized that maybe I’ve been making things too hard–and too expensive at the same time! Simple is good.

Seasoned Rice Mix~Homemade!

May 13, 2011 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Bobbie's Store, food, Grocery Challenge, recipes, saving money

Boy, this is a time saver, super yummy and easy. I got this from the cookbook called Dining on a Dime.

It’s a homemade version of Rice-a-Roni. I made several batches.

Seasoned Rice Mix

1 cup spaghetti (broken into very small pieces or vermicelli which is what I used.)

2 cups of rice, uncooked

¼ cup dried parsley

6 Tablespoons of instant chicken or beef bouillon powder

2 teaspoons of onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Mix all the ingredients & store in an airtight container.

To use put 1 cup mix, 2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine and 2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce hear and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender.

This recipes makes 3 batches.

Pantry Essentials

Mar 22, 2011 by pearsonsprogress    No Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, recipes, saving money

I try and keep my  pantry and freezer well-stocked with a variety of canned, dried and frozen goods that I  know we’ll love to eat. Canned beans, frozen vegetables, meat and fish and dried fruit, nuts, pasta & noodles, rice & grains, are all essentials with a long shelf life – meaning I will always have the ingredients standing by to pull together a delicious meal or to jazz up my leftovers. The trick is to replace items once you have used them up. I keep a running list.

I use my  pantry to create meals from leftovers. Any spare fresh tomatoes could be added to some canned ones to make a great topping for pizza. Rice would turn leftover chicken and wrinkly peppers into a delicious summer salad. Add a can of lentils to my ground beef meat to make it stretch further. John actually prefers a rice crust for quiche rather than pastry. It’s easy to do:

rice

RICE CRUST:

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Using what’s in the fridge today

Mar 14, 2011 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, food, Grocery Challenge, saving money

My full fridge

Here’s a shot of my very full refrigerator!This week will be dedicated to emptying it the best I can. We have pizza,  carrot/butternut soup, beef fried rice, lots of veggies,  plain rice & more. The eggs I’m saving for the guests we have coming this week. Remember that my… Read more »

What to do with the leftover rice…

Mar 11, 2011 by pearsonsprogress    No Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, food, Grocery Challenge, saving money

white rice

I cleaned out the entire fridge and re-organized it. I have one shelf in the pantry organized and I found a packet of  stir fry seasoning mix that our friends from church sent to us. It’s the last one of it’s kind.

Here’s my plan: Read more »