Big Changes

Well hi there! Long time, no blog...

So many things have changed since last we spoke. For starters, Angel Food Ministries has closed its doors. Picking up where AFM left off is One Harvest. Currently serving the southeastern part of the U.S., they are gearing up for a nationwide launch in the Spring of 2012. I'm rather excited to see them in our area.

On a more familial note, kids have grown up and moved out. Yay! The oldest is living in Texas with his family. Last month, his youngest, Tobai, turned 1. Tobai brings such joy to the family, as do his older brothers, Keegan and Seth. We are very blessed to have them. The oldest daughter, and mom to Rylie, is sharing an apartment with our youngest son about 50 miles from home. Close enough to visit, but not so close as to have them under foot. Or maybe it's us that THEY don't want underfoot... The younger daughter is living in Colorado and loving the snow. Rylie is growing by leaps and bounds. He brings a constant stream of joy into our every waking moment.

Personally, I've been attending community college. I started out working toward a degree in Sustainable Food Systems. My eye has wandered, though, and I have found myself toggling back and forth between the Culinary field and Computer Sciences. Of course, there is always the idea of a Business degree... Feeling a bit scattered, but I'm told that it is perfectly normal when there is a toddler in the house. :) All I know, for sure, is that I'm not finished with school. Heck, I've even toyed with the idea of becoming a Justice of the Peace... I know! Crazy, right?

Life is, well... life! I'll be back tomorrow to share more :) Thanks for sticking with me!

Angel Food Ministries

Late last night, I hopped online to place my August order with Angel Food Ministries. I almost forgot! It was late. I was tired. But I couldn't miss the deadline! (the deadline is tonight, not last night!)

From their site: "Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. Angel Food is available in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60."

It really is a heck of a deal and is going to go a long way in our house, next month. My pickup date is August 29. That gives me the next two weeks to come up with a meal plan and menu. It needs to be in order before I pick the food up. I'll need to get busy with the Once A Month Cooking when I get it all home.

This month's menu consists of:

SIGNATURE BOX

1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.)

3 lb. IQF Split Chicken Breast

1 lb. Boneless Center Cut Pork
Chops

2 lb. Mac & Beef Dinner Entrée

1.5 lb. Breaded All White Meat

Chicken Nuggets

1 lb. 80/20 Lean Ground Beef

1 lb. Bake or Fry Fish Sticks
(32 sticks)

1 lb. Frozen Corn

1 lb. Frozen Baby Lima Beans

1 ct. Cello-Wrapped Iceberg Lettuce

2 lb. Sweet Potatoes

15 oz. Pork & Beans

1 lb. Rice

32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk

Dozen Eggs

Dessert

In addition to the Signature Box, we are picking up the following :

Convenience Box
(These will all go with Garrett to the office for lunches)

6.5 lb. Assorted Meat Grill Box

4.5 lb. Steak Combo

10 lb. Assorted Chicken Grill Box

Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box

For a grand total of $147.00 plus a $1.00 convenience fee, we are picking up almost 60 pounds of food. This should get us through September with a few trips to the market for milk, eggs and other such silliness.

Recipe for August Heat Breakers

Ingredients:
2 boys
1 hose
1 backyard
1 dog

Directions:

1. Turn on water.
2. Watch dog run for cover around the side of the house.
3. Lock sliding glass door.
4. Take pictures from a safe spot inside.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Hair Cutting

"Aunt Jeni, I do NOT want my hair cut!"

"Hmmm, this might not be too bad."

"Wow! I can see myself from across the room and ya know what? I'm pretty good looking!"

"A little shorter than I wanted it."

"I am one handsome dude!"

The Big Visit

Jeni, Segan, Garrett, Rylie (in the middle), Ryan, Ellie and Tyler

Katy, Segan, Cathy, Jeni, Ellie and Sandy (in front)

Keegan, Tyler, Garrett, Ryan,
Rylie (in the middle),
Joshua, Seth and Mike

Four generations! Jeni, Segan, Cathy and Rylie

We had the whole family here from California to visit with Master Rylie. He enjoyed hugs, cuddles, kisses and the park.
Not this part...

DEFINITELY this part, though!

More OAMC (once a month cooking)

So, I tried it again! This time, chicken was on sale at my favorite store - Fresh & Easy. Ground beef was on sale again at Albertson's, so I grabbed some of that, too.

The menu for the month looks like this:

2 Baja Chicken
1 Herbed Chicken (we used this with onions and ranch dressing on a pizza!)
3 Baked Chicken - dark meats
2 Mojito Lime Chicken
2 Chipotle Chicken
2 Southwest Chicken
6 Cooked Ground Beef bags
2 Sausage bags (6 sausages in each bag)
3 4-packs of burgers ready to cook

This was a lot more fun! While wandering through Albertson's, I came across a great deal on packaged marinade mixes - 2/$1. I was pleased to find that they call for TWO pounds of chicken instead of just one. I bought 4! At Fresh & Easy, I found their grill packs marked down by half. These have 4 burgers, 4 sausages, 4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs. I bought 3 of these. All tolled, I spent $120 (and saved $118!! I love sales) and made 23 meals.




Shopping and cooking took me a grand total of 5 hours, this time around. I started by cooking up the ground beef the same way I had last time. While that cooked, I repacked the sausages into 2 quart ziptop bags, the burgers went into 3 different bags and the dark meat chicken went into gallon bags - 4 legs and 4 thighs made up 3 bags. These went into the freezer uncooked. The ground beef came off the stove and into the colander. After cooling, I bagged the crumbles into 6 quart bags and tossed those into the freezer. The chicken dishes were the worst part. I hate touching raw chicken. HATE IT. I went about my chicken prep, though, cutting it all into 1 inch cubes. I measured it out, 2 pounds at a time, into gallon ziptop bags. Into each bag I put a marinade pack and the ingredients that were called for - water, oil and vinegar for some of them. After mixing them well in the bags, I tossed those into the freezer. They cook up really well after they thaw. These are separated into 2 meals after cooking. The second half can be refrozen, once it's cooked, and used for a second meal, later in the month. The final pound of chicken was boiled with some yummy herbs and frozen in a quart ziptop bag. The cooking water, of course, was kept for chicken stock.

There you have it- another month or so of meals for our family of 6!

Who Me?

Rylie's favorite place to be! He is on Grandma and Grandpa's bed with his Boppy. I can't believe the strength this little guy has! He is all of eight weeks old and he's pushing up like this all the time. His interests are the headboard in the background and a teether toy that rattles. It mesmerizes him!