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Zaycon Foods Grilled Chicken Breast Strips

3 May

Ok, I know, I know, I just bought 40 pounds of fresh chicken breasts in March at $1.89 per pound.  I had wanted to pre-cook some of it before freezing it, but I didn’t have the time to do it.  Then, Zaycon Foods announced they were having a Fully Cooked Grillmarked Chicken Breasts Strips event for $2.89 per pound, I debated on whether or not to buy in.  My friend that I had split with before had contacted me to ask if I was, but I was still on the fence.  She said she was interested in sharing again, so I eventually decided that I would participate.  I know the other chicken I had just purchased was cheaper per pound, but for the convenience of having fully cooked chicken to pull out for various uses was very appealing to me.  Plus, fully cooked chicken at the store is usually closer to $4 per pound, so I was pleased with the price as well.  The original e-mail said that it would be 8 5-lb bags, but when I picked it up this week, it was 32 1.25-lb bags.  Which, actually is fine, because this size bags is actually better portion size for my use.  I haven’t used it yet, but by looking at the bags, it looks really good, not a lot of gristle like some fully cooked chicken tends to be.  Once I do use it, I will give an update as to how it tastes.

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Freezing Strawberries

2 May

We love smoothies in our house, but the cost of berries during the winter months is way too pricey for this tight budget family.  So, this time of year when berries are cheap is the perfect time to stock up and freeze them to use later.  Last year, I stocked up on both strawberries and blueberries, and they got us through until now, when berries are coming back in season.  Strawberries have been pretty cheap, about $1.25 for 1 pound, so I have bought some at the store, and then Bountiful Baskets had an 8 pounds for $11, so I bought those as well.

Last year, when I bought the berries, I washed and dried them, then hulled the strawberries.  I lined some baking sheets with parchment paper, then spread the berries in a single layer on the baking sheet.  I put the baking sheets in the freezer and left them there until they were frozen.  I stored them in 1-gallon sized zipper bags.  The reason for freezing them in a single layer like that is to prevent them from sticking together while freezing.  Since I was putting them in larger sized storage bags and would only use a handful at a time, I wanted to try to prevent the sticking.  It worked out well for me.  Also, I didn’t have the FoodSaver then, so I removed as much air as I could from the zipper bags by zipping the bag almost all the way, leaving a small opening at the end to put in a drinking straw, then sucking out as much air as I could by mouth.  It’s not a perfect method, but will help remove more of the air out of the bag.

This year, since I have the FoodSaver and the rolls of bags to create your own size bag, I decided to prepare the strawberries, then put an amount in the bags that would be 1 time use for me.  So, to start, I hulled the strawberries using a strawberry hulling tool I bought at the store after last year’s strawberry experience.  It’s a simple,  little tool.  You position it over the leaves and area you want to remove, twist, and pull it out.

It then leaves a dome-shaped indent at the top of the strawberry.  I like this over cutting off the entire top because then I don’t lost as much of the strawberry.

I ended up putting about 1/2 pound of strawberries in each bag, then put the open bags in the freezer.  Once the strawberries had frozen, I vacuum sealed the bags.  The reason for freezing first is that I was worried about the moisture content of the fresh strawberries.  In the vacuum process, I didn’t want liquid to escape the top of the bag, potentially damaging the FoodSaver.  So, I now have 12 bags of strawberries in my freezer, and I’m debating on adding more, although my freezer is rather full at this point!

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Freezing Carrots

2 May

I’m a little behind in getting this up.  My laptop is out of commission, and I’m having to share time on my desktop with my kids and husband.  And, paying bills has been more important than getting a blog post written.

Anyway, a few weeks back, I got the 25 pound bag of carrots that was an extra from Bountiful Baskets.  Well, I actually got 2 bags, but 1 bag went to my friend’s horses, which they loved for a treat.  But, no horses at my house, so I had to figure out what to do with all of mine.  First, I filled 2 1-gallon size zipper bags with the whole carrots to go in the fridge.  They should last in there for a while.  Then, I washed, peeled, and cut 5 carrots into snack sized sticks.

After this I had about half the bag left, so I used my mandolin slicer to julienne cut the carrots.  I then blanched them (3 minutes in boiling water, drain, 3 minutes in ice water, drain), and measured them in to 2 cup portions.  I used a FoodSaver roll to make bags to fit the 2 cups.   They were still fairly moist, so I put the open bags in the freezer first, then vacuum sealed the bags after the carrots had mostly frozen.

So, now I have 7 2-cup bags of julienne cut carrots to use for soups or stews in my freezer!

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Basket Breakdown – 4/28/2012

29 Apr

Oh, what a morning it was for Bountiful Baskets!  The truck was very late, to the tune of 2 hours late, but people were very patient and a lot of volunteers stepped up to get the distribution done.  It turned out awesome in the end!

This week, I got the conventional basket for $15, the Mexican themed veggie pack for $8.50, and 8 lbs of strawberries for $11.

This week’s conventional basket had a mango, bananas, apples, pineapple, watermelon (not shown, mine wandered off before I took the picture), green beans, broccoli, broccoflower (green colored cauliflower), potatoes, and tomatoes (1 or 2 not shown because my husband ate some right when I brought it all home).

Here are a few ideas for this week:

Mango: Mango Banana Smoothies

Broccoli: Shrimp & Broccoli Alfredo, Garlic Herb Chicken with Broccoli and Cauliflower, Corn & Broccoli Casserole, Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup, Sesame Chicken & Broccoli, Roasted Broccoli, Broccoli Cheese Cornbread

Potato: Potatoes Au Gratin (just use 2 lbs of potatoes and omit Jerusalem artichokes), Oven Baked Potato Chips, Sausage &  Potato Pie, Slow Cooker Potato Soup, Steak, Egg, & Potato Burritos (also use roasted Poblano peppers or green chiles from the Mexican pack to spice it up a bit)

This week’s Mexican themed veggie pack had cilantro, Poblano peppers, key limes, tomatillos, green chiles, green onion, avocados, jalapeno peppers, yellow onion, and garlic.  I’ll be using these ingredients to make Breakfast Burritos, Salsa Verde to mix with chicken for Chicken Taquitos, and my very favorite, Roasted Corn Salsa.

Finally, the strawberries!  I froze 6 pounds, leaving 2 pounds plus the 1 pound in my conventional basket fresh for us to eat.  They don’t last long in my house!  The frozen ones will be used throughout the winter, when berries are more expensive to buy, to make smoothies.  Yum!  I will hopefully have a post up soon on how to freeze berries.

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.  I also volunteered this week and got 1 extra item for volunteering.

 

This post is participating in a Bountiful Baskets Menu Plan Link-Up with Healthy Mom’s Kitchen to share recipes and menu plans using Bountiful Baskets items.

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Bountiful Baskets and Car Seat Check- 4/21/2012

22 Apr

I had wanted to get this done yesterday, but I was exhausted after the morning.  Both things that I am currently volunteering at, Bountiful Baskets and car seat checks with San Pedro Kiwanis, were both scheduled at the same time yesterday.  Lucky for me, they were both in the same area!  So, I was able to go back and forth to both yesterday.

First, my car was loaded up with new car seats to have on hand in case we had to replace any during the seat check.  They just fit into the back of my Chevy Equinox!

I stopped and unloaded them, and set up other things for the seat check, then headed over to the Bountiful Baskets site to drop off the sign I made and help them get started on set up.  I like that it’s open and has great scenery with the mountains in full view.

I then was at the seat check for most of the distribution time, and we ended up checking 10 car seats overall.  I was happy with the amount, and we had plenty of technicians on hand to help.  When it was time, I went over and got my basket.  This week, I only got the conventional basket since I didn’t want to worry about getting extras since I wasn’t going to be on site most of the time.  Lots of good things this week!

Spinach, corn, celery, yellow squash, Romaine lettuce, yellow onion, Roma tomatoes, Ambrosia apples, bananas, lemons, strawberries (some are missing because my daughters got to them before I could!), and kiwi.

Here are a few ideas for this week:

Spinach: Spinach Basil Pesto Pizza, Spinach Lasagna Roll ups, Cheesy Spinach Burgers, Sausage Florentine Pizza, Spinach Bacon Shells & Cheese, Spinach Mushroom Quiche, Slow Cooker Spinach, Lentil, & Tortellini Soup, Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip, Spinach Manicotti, Spanakopita  (Can you tell I’m a BIG fan on spinach?!)

Corn: Corn & Broccoli Casserole, Roasted Corn Salsa

And, here is the link to last week’s basket post since some of the items are the same!

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.  I also volunteered this week and got 1 extra item for volunteering.

 

This post is participating in a Bountiful Baskets Menu Plan Link-Up with Healthy Mom’s Kitchen to share recipes and menu plans using Bountiful Baskets items.

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How to Freshen up Wilted Celery

18 Apr

A while back I posted a tip for freshening up wilted lettuce.  I recently got some celery and wasn’t able to cut and bag it right away, so it got soft and wilted.  I remembered reading that you could freshen it up similar to lettuce, so I wanted to see if it would work.  But, I tried a different method than I did with the lettuce.

To start, you need a tall pitcher or vase.  Trim the tops from the celery to fit the size of your pitcher or vase because only the fully submerged parts will crisp up.

Put the pitcher or vase with the celery in water into the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.  I did mine before I went to bed, then checked it in the morning.  And, it was crispy again!  You will notice that mine is not fully submerged, that was an experiment on my part.  The top that was not in water was still soft, but the rest that was in water was crispy.  I cut and put in a vacuum sealed zipper bag (I have a FoodSaver FreshSaver to do this, great tool!) to have as snacks for the rest of the week.  Ok, maybe a day in my house because my kids and I love celery.

So, before you throw out that wilted celery again, give this a try to see if you can get the crispness back!

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Keeping a Freezer Inventory

16 Apr

Since I got my deep freeze, I’ve been wanting a way to be able to keep track of what is in it.  It’s a chest freezer, so things can get lost at the bottom pretty easily.  I looked at some examples online of freezer inventory sheets, and then put together one the way I wanted it. I have a column for the date, a column for the item, then 10 columns for quantity.  The quantity columns have a \ to show what has gone in, then when I take an item out, I cross that line, making an X.  The picture below is a little blurry, but gives you an idea, and you can find the actual document here to download and use in Microsoft Excel.

Since I was printing it out, I typed in what I already have.  I will add other items by hand, then will print a new sheet when this one fills up.  I have this on a clipboard with a pen hanging on a 3M hook above my freezer in the garage.  It’s not real pretty, but it’s functional for what I need.

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Basket Breakdown – 4/14/2012

14 Apr

Today’s distribution was windy, rainy, and cold, something fairly unusual for Arizona!  I was very close to turning on the air conditioning earlier this week, but had to turn my heat back on today.  I’m trying to figure out if it really is mid-April!   But, moving around, filling up baskets was a great way to keep warm and there was a great group of volunteers who still made it all happen despite the weather.

This week, I got the conventional basket for $15, the Asian themed veggie pack for $8.50, and 2 25-lb bags of carrots for $9 each.  Here is how it all looked:

My basket had yellow onions, Romaine lettuce, zucchini, yellow squash, Roma tomatoes, oranges, lemons, bananas, pineapple, pears, Pink Lady apples, and kiwi.

Here are some recipe ideas:

Zucchini: Italian Crescent Zucchini Pie, Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake (can also use yellow squash), Sausage, Zucchini, and Tomatoes over Rice (can also use yellow squash and the Roma tomatoes in place of the canned tomatoes)

Yellow Squash: Yellow Squash Casserole, Yellow Squash Fritters (can use zucchini instead)

Roma tomatoes: Pizza Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Greek Salsa

Lemons: Lemon Herb Chicken, Kotopoulo Lemonato, Avgolemono Soup

Pears: Pear Cake

Apples: Apple Crisp, Applesauce

Bok Choy, Napa cabbage, celery, yellow onion, garlic, ginger root, green onion, water chestnuts, peas, and basil.

Here are some recipe ideas:

Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad – One of my favorites!  Also uses green onion.

Stir fry to go along with Sesame Chicken, Orange Chicken or Lemon Chicken, using Bok Choy, water chestnuts, peas, onion, and ginger.

Finally, here is one of the 25 lb bags of carrots.  One of these bags is going to my friend for her horses.  The other bag is for me, and I plan on cutting a lot of them for snacks for us, making a Carrot Cake, using them in the stir fry I mentioned above, and in soups/stews, like Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles and Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup.

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.  I also volunteered this week and got 1 extra item for volunteering.

 

This post is participating in a LinkUp Party with Healthy Mom’s Kitchen to share recipes and menu plans using Bountiful Baskets items.

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Roast Leg of Lamb

8 Apr

 

This is one of my husband’s favorites.   Unfortunately, the price of lamb makes it so we can’t enjoy it very often, but we do splurge to get it every so often.  This leg of lamb we got at the local Farmer’s Market from San Ysidro Farms.  It turned out really good, so good that even my 3-year-old asked for seconds.  This was our Easter meal, and I served bread and celery dressing and roasted asparagus with this.

 

Roast Leg of Lamb

What you need:

5-6 lb leg of lamb
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut lengthwise
Oregano
Rosemary
Juice of 1 lemon
Red wine (I usually use merlot)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Make quarter-inch deep incisions in all sides of lamb and insert a sliver of garlic in each slit.  See picture below.

Baste with lemon juice and red wine and season with oregano and rosemary.  Place on a rack inside a roasting pan.  Cook fat side up for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.  You may need to add water to the bottom of the roasting pan to help with basting.  Turn leg over to brown other side as well, 1-2 hours, or until desired temperature is reached. 130 F – 140 F for rare, 140 F – 150 F for medium, and 150 F – 160 F for well done.

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Basket Breakdown – 4/7/2012

8 Apr

Busy week at our site this week, I felt like I was running around everywhere!  But, it was a great day!

This week, I got the conventional basket for $15 and 5 loaves of organic 9 grain bread for $12, so $28.50 total after the handling fee.  Here is what was in the conventional baskets this week:

Pineapple, grapefruit, oranges, cameo apples, bananas, asparagus, celery, Romaine lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, yams, and broccoli.

Here are some recipe ideas:

Celery: Bread & Celery Dressing, How to Freeze Celery, Slow Cooker Chicken & Noodles, Turkey Cranberry Wreath (great if you are having turkey for Easter dinner and have leftovers!)

Asparagus: Excellent steamed, roasted or grilled.  I also like using it in stir fry.

Broccoli: Shrimp & Broccoli Alfredo, Garlic Herb Chicken with Broccoli, Corn & Broccoli Casserole, Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup, Roasted Broccoli, Broccoli Cheese Cornbread, or in a stir fry with Sesame Chicken

Green beans:  I prefer them steamed, but these green beans are great raw as well

Yams (sweet potatoes):  Sweet Potato Cake with cream cheese frosting, Sweet Potato Pie, or my favorite, Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Apples: Apple Crisp, Applesauce

 

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.  I also volunteered this week and got 1 extra item for volunteering.

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