I was sorting through my chest freezer yesterday and I had a brilliant idea. (at least I think it's brilliant ;-)) Having just received some of the cow my parents had bought from my uncle, I was trying to take an accurate inventory and get the "old" stuff on top of my freezer, so it would get used. I took everything out because DH and my dad had put all the new beef on top of the old food. As I returned everything to the freezer, I decided to write down what was on each level. I have now taped to the top of my freezer a "map" of sorts that tells me what layer to find which type of food on. Here's what it looks like:
Left Side:
Basket:
pepperoni, peppers, whole chicken, onion rings, cranberries, 2 lemonades, 2 stew beef
Under the basket:
Muffins, 12-1#hamburger packages
french fries, broccoli, corn
fish, 2 bags of 8-1Cup pkg rhubarb
Right Side:
crescent rolls, bread dough, green beans
2- 2# hamburger, 1 pork chop
Bagged together (pork chop, 3 sirloin steaks, 2 pork roasts), 1 gal. bucket of homemade ice cream
2 soup bones, 2 2.5#bags chicken
3 beef roasts, 2 pork spareribs
3 5# bags of white wheat
We just have a small chest freezer. The smallest they make actually because that's all we had space for, but DH is forever afraid of me "losing" food in it like our mothers do, and I have to admit, I'd forgotten about the bags of chicken and spare ribs. I'm hoping that this way, I won't forget the things that got buried last time. I know I also need to keep track of what I've taken out. That's the hard part.
This post is linked with Kitchen Tip Tuesday's at Tammy's Recipes . So be sure to head over to Tammy's Recipes to see what other kitchen short cuts others have shared.
Showing posts with label Kitchen Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kitchen Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
My Favorite Mashed Potatoes
I haven't participated in Kitche Tip Tuesday's for a while, but as I was making the Hamburger soup (recipe to follow), I began to think about the mashed potatoes that I hope to make for dinner tomorrow night.
Here's my tip for this week: Use buttermilk instead of regular milk in mashed potatoes.
I like mashed potatoes, and only one of my kids doesn't, so it's a meal we have fairly often. I generally do traditional potatoes, save a little of the water to retain nutrients, some butter and skim milk. One day when I was making mashed potatoes, I forgot to save some of the cooking liquid, and had some buttermilk on hand that needed used. So, I decided how bad can it be? And at least I won't be wasting the buttermilk. Let me tell you what! They were the best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. Just enough buttermilk and butter to get the perfect consistency. It was a little bit of heaven. So, tomorrow, since I have buttermilk in the fridge, I'll be making my super-yummy mashed potatoes. I can't wait.
Also, our dinner recipe for tonight
Hamburger Soup:
2 pounds of ground beef
3 carrots, peeled & sliced
3 parsnips, peeled & sliced
2 ribs of celery sliced
2 potatoes, cubed
1 Cup frozen green beans
1 can (15oz) of diced tomatoes (the Italian seasoned ones would be nice)
1 box of beef broth (32 oz.)
2 envelopes of beef bullion (left over from ramen noodles. I'm guessing 2-3tsp)
4 cups of water
2 bay leaves
1/2TBSP thyme (1 1/2 tsp)
1/2 TBSP tarragon
1 small onion diced
1. Brown and drain beef
2.Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are done, or as long as desired.
Here's my tip for this week: Use buttermilk instead of regular milk in mashed potatoes.
I like mashed potatoes, and only one of my kids doesn't, so it's a meal we have fairly often. I generally do traditional potatoes, save a little of the water to retain nutrients, some butter and skim milk. One day when I was making mashed potatoes, I forgot to save some of the cooking liquid, and had some buttermilk on hand that needed used. So, I decided how bad can it be? And at least I won't be wasting the buttermilk. Let me tell you what! They were the best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. Just enough buttermilk and butter to get the perfect consistency. It was a little bit of heaven. So, tomorrow, since I have buttermilk in the fridge, I'll be making my super-yummy mashed potatoes. I can't wait.
Also, our dinner recipe for tonight
Hamburger Soup:
2 pounds of ground beef
3 carrots, peeled & sliced
3 parsnips, peeled & sliced
2 ribs of celery sliced
2 potatoes, cubed
1 Cup frozen green beans
1 can (15oz) of diced tomatoes (the Italian seasoned ones would be nice)
1 box of beef broth (32 oz.)
2 envelopes of beef bullion (left over from ramen noodles. I'm guessing 2-3tsp)
4 cups of water
2 bay leaves
1/2TBSP thyme (1 1/2 tsp)
1/2 TBSP tarragon
1 small onion diced
1. Brown and drain beef
2.Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are done, or as long as desired.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Inexpensive Meat
After dropping the Boy off at preschool, one morning last week, Bean and I made a trip to our local Wal-Mart. I love going to Wal-mart first thing in the morning...it's devoid of crowds, I almost always get one of the first parking spaces closest to the store, and there are nearly no lines in the check-out. Oh yeah, and the best part is first thing in the morning, the meat department marks down meat that has a sell by date within 48 hours. I was able to get 10 pounds of 80/20 ground chuck for $1.68 per pound. I love it! I usually stock up when the grocery store sells it for around $2.00/pound. I immediately came home and packaged it into meal size portions (2 pounds for us) and froze it for later this month. I was also able to get some boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $.99/pound at another grocery store earlier using the same "technique" of shopping early and looking at the stuff that was marked down for a quick sale. I can't tell you how excited I was to get the chicken breasts. I must admit, I was a bit prideful and bragged about my find on Facebook. For more great kitchen tips, stop by Kitchen Tip Tuesday tammysrecipes.com
I had hoped to post my menu for the week yesterday, but never got around to it, so her it is now.
Monday: Meatball Sandwiches, Mashed potatoes, and beans
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner--waffles, sausage, and fried potatoes
Wednesday: Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup, fresh bread (hopefully. I've managed to ruin the last 6 I've tired to make) and salad
Thursday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, rice and corn
Friday: Pizza & Movie Night 2 pepperoni pizzas, veggie sticks, and hopefully Anne of Green Gables. I'm in need of a good chick flick...unless there's a Leafs game on. Then DH will comandeer the tv.
Saturday: Chicken Tenders, mashed potatoes, something green...probably broccoli.
Sunday: Spare ribs, baked potatoes, applesauce
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Recycling Ziploc type bags
It's Tuesday, which means it is "Kitchen Tip Tuesday" at Tammy's Recipes!
My kitchen tip for today is probably a familiar one for those of you who have been re-using Ziploc type bags. I was washing up a few bags the other day. I was trying to think of an easier way to get the insides dry as it usually takes a while. Then it hit me. If I turned them inside out they would dry quicker. So I did just that and then stuck the dryer inside over a spatula I already had in the dish drainer and it had plenty of air circulation to dry in the same time as my other dishes.
Of course, the funniest part about this post is: When I was a kid, I despised the fact that my mother was too "cheap" to just buy new bags. Don't you know, now I do the same thing. Of course I don't re-use bags that have had raw meat in them like she does, but anything else in a bag and I'll wash it and re-use.
My kitchen tip for today is probably a familiar one for those of you who have been re-using Ziploc type bags. I was washing up a few bags the other day. I was trying to think of an easier way to get the insides dry as it usually takes a while. Then it hit me. If I turned them inside out they would dry quicker. So I did just that and then stuck the dryer inside over a spatula I already had in the dish drainer and it had plenty of air circulation to dry in the same time as my other dishes.
Of course, the funniest part about this post is: When I was a kid, I despised the fact that my mother was too "cheap" to just buy new bags. Don't you know, now I do the same thing. Of course I don't re-use bags that have had raw meat in them like she does, but anything else in a bag and I'll wash it and re-use.
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