Salsa!

We have a very happy garden this year.

The 8-year-old boy helped me pick tomatoes today.

Then I started chopping (and crying over all those onions!).

Now we have salsa for a while.

Yum!

Lots of Case Lots

There have been great sales at the grocery stores around here lately.

It's always fun to get a good deal,

but then I have to put it all away.

A well-stocked food storage room makes me smile!

;-)

Freezer Dinners

More freezer meals today.

This time it is Tater Tot Casserole.

Not the healthiest meal we eat,

but one of the tastiest!

;-)

Gum

This is not a real organization something,

but it sure was a great deal!

I went to ShopKo today when I had some time to kill

and scored a whole bunch of 32 cent gum!

Whenever I find a good deal, I like to stock up...even gum!

Packaged Food

Remember my 72-hour kit quest?

I opened my 10-year-old 72-hour kits and decided it was time to replace them.

Earlier this month, I bought new food

and on Saturday, I packaged them in mylar bags from

the Home Storage Center.

Now I can work on the other parts of my kits.

72-Hour-Food

After opening one of my 10-year-old 72-hour kits,

I decided that it was time for new ones.

Besides that, 10 years ago, there were only five of us.

This time I had to make eight.

Here's what I bought at WalMart.

All of this plus granola bars only cost me $40!

Not bad for eight people for three days.

At the end of the month, I'll be packaging them in #10 cans and sealing them

with oxygen packets so they'll last another 10 years.

(I didn't put beef jerky, raisins, or gum in this time.  They didn't fair too well on the last go around!)

Dinner for Two Families

I made my standard Garden Patch Chowder and bread

for my family and another one who needed it.

Early Dinner

When my oldest son came home from school,

he asked if I was making dinner for someone else.

My kids know that if dinner is in process before 5p.m.,

part of it is probably for someone else.

They're right!

A friend of mine had knee surgery

so we got to take dinner to her and her family.

Home made soup and bread.

We got to enjoy it, too!

Christmas Food

I suggested to my mom that she give her kids

and married grandkids food storage for Christmas.

I thought it was a great idea...and so did she!

With the help of two sisters and a nephew

we canned 87 cans of food at the dry pack cannery.

 Now I know what I'm getting for Christmas.

And so do you if you're my sibling, niece, or nephew and you read this blog!

Act surprised, okay?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one!

It has always been my favorite holiday and will always be.

We are eating here at 12 and at my brother-in-law's at 4.

Two yummy dinners on my favorite day of the year!

 This is the traditional raspberry/cranberry jello salad that I make every year.

This something shouldn't last long!

39 cent Soup

If you know me, you know that I like to get a good deal.

There is a great sale at Smith's (grocery store) today.

Today I restocked my food storage with a few things that were getting low.

This is what I bought...

And this is where I put some of it...

I spent $98.76 and saved $133.45!

Gotta love it when you save more than you spend!

BOOM BABY!

(That's a line from The Emperor's New Groove that we use a lot around here!)

Leaves and Tortillas

I got two somethings done today.

We have an outside entrance with not much of a drain on the side of the house.

It gets full of leaves and water occasionally so we got it cleaned out today.

Last time we cleaned it out my 15-year-old used the water for his

science fair project and won at the school and district levels.

I also made a couple of freezer meals.

The husband bought a huge package of corn tortillas last week

so I found a recipe to use them.

I cooked one and froze two.

That's two nights of freedom in my future!

Do A Good Turn Daily

Making dinner doesn't usually count as something that stays done

unless it's dinner for another night or another family!

I made dinner for a sick friend today.

And baked 250 cookies for a church activity.

Thankfully, they were pre-made, pre-frozen dough discs because

I remembered that I had volunteered to bake the cookies at 4p.m. for a 7p.m. activity.

My nice neighbor let me use her oven.

She has twins too, so she understands how I could have forgotten!

4 nights of freedom!

Today's something will last for a little while.

I made some dinners for the freezer.

I love having meals ready to go for when there just are not enough hours in the day.

Just put it in the oven and a few hours later...dinner is served!