On Saturday, it was because we bought over 45 pounds of produce - fresh, frozen and canned. A lot of it came from Sam's Club where we bought frozen broccoli, mixed veggies, corn and fruit for about a dollar a pound as well as 5 pounds of apples, 3 pounds of bananas and 6 pounds of tomatoes. The rest came from Fareway in the form of potatoes and onions. You might be thinking, "What could two people possibly need 45 pounds of produce for?!?" We asked ourselves that same question, even knowing the answer, because we did feel a little crazy.
Well, on Sunday we "cooked for a day," so we can "eat for a month" - the title of the cookbook was something like that at least. By the time it was all said and done on Sunday, Aaron and I had produced, portioned off, and frozen enough food for the two of us for about 45 meals. (The recipes are intended for families, so when we realized just how many meals for two we'd made, Aaron started asking, "How many people live here??" again.) A lot of the recipes have similar ingredients - which made for easier grocery shopping - and there's even a few recipes that all use the same ground meat mixture, so you can prepare a whole bunch and easily put together a few dishes. The cookbook tells you the order to do things in as well, so you end up with something baking, while a soup is simmering and you're preparing something else, so it took us less than 4 hours, including cooling times. In case you're wondering, we made:
- Spaghettie Pie - 4 meals
- Sloppy Joes - 2 meals
- Poor Man's Casserole - 4-5 meals
- Broccoli Quiche - 4 meals
- Texas Style Chili - 5-6 meals
- Lentil and Rice Soup - 5-6 meals
- Mix and Match Chicken Soup - 5-6 meals
- Black Beans and Rice - 5 meals
- Chicken Curry - 4 meals
- Pasta w/ meat sauce - 4 meals
Even after cooking 45 meals, we still have about 30 pounds of our purchased 45 pounds of produce. We've been trying to work more fruits and veggies into our diets, and we're to the point where we honestly go through about 12-15 pounds of produce a week, so we should be set for a few weeks at least. We're looking forward to having a garden again this summer so we can enjoy lots of fresh veggies (and fruit if Aaron gets his way). At least that way we won't have to buy 45 pounds at a time to be economical about it...
1 comment:
That is awesome! I have yet to sit down and type out my recipes but it looks like you took care of it! If you need any more let me know!
There is a place in North Liberty called Naomi's Kitchen and they do the same thing, but they have you come to their shop, they give you ingredients and then you cook it and freeze it for later.
You two are so cute!
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