FarmBox Fresh: 6/12/2013

14 Jun

I haven’t posted FarmBox picture recently, and since they started offering new items, I wanted to make sure to give an update!  They now are offering items like oats, lentils, peas, raisins, and other items from their sister company, One Degree Organic Foods.  Plus, they provided us with a copy of a new magazine, Edible Baja, which is all about food and drink in southern AZ.  It’s a really neat magazine!

FarmBox Fresh: 6/12/2013

 

So, this week you can see I got the following:

1 Bread – Sprouted Spelt (1.0 loaf)
1 Lettuce – Green Leaf (1.0 head)
1 Zucchini (1.0 each)
1 Squash – Yellow Straightneck (1.0 each)
1 Radish (1.0 bunch)
1 Carrots (1.0 bunch)
1 PantryItems: Rolled Oats Organic (1.0 bag)
1 PantryItems: Raisins Organic (1.0 bag)

Total: $23.50

The carrots and radishes have been great snacks, and I’ve been on a salad kick lately, so the green leaf lettuce is perfect for salads for lunch.  I think I will be making oatmeal raisin cookies with the oats and the raisins, that is, if I don’t eat all the raisins first!  Still love getting fresh food from them, and happy to hear that they are partnering with farms with the same quality values as them to be able to provide more for us who participate in the program.  Looking forward to them offering peaches again soon from a local grower, last year they were amazing!

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Breakfast Biscuit Bowls

9 Jun

As promised, here is the update on my next round of biscuit bowls!

Once again, I used 1 can of Grands biscuits.  This time, I sprayed the small Pyrex bowls on the outside, rolled together 2 Grands biscuits, and spread it over the outside of the bowl.  I lined a baking sheet with aluminum foil, placed the upside down bowls on the sheet, and baked in the oven at 350 F.  After 12 minutes, I started checking them, and mine were finished in 20 minutes.  Time may vary by oven and by what you bake them on.

Biscuit bowls after bakingThen, I worked on the filling.  You can see a peek of the skillet in the picture above.  I started by removing the casings from breakfast sausage and crumbling and cooking in a  large skillet over medium heat.  Once browned, I left the fat in and mixed in small cubes of red potatoes.  I let this cook for a while to let the potatoes soften.  Next, I added in some diced red onion, and cooked until the onions were translucent.  Then, I added in diced mushrooms and chopped fresh spinach.  Once the spinach wilted, I pushed it all up to one side, and on the empty side, added in 6 eggs that I had whisked with a couple of tablespoons of milk.  Once this cooked up and I stirred to scramble, I mixed the eggs in with the rest, giving me this delicious-ness:

Sausage, red potato, red onion, mushroom, spinach, and scrambled egg filling for biscuit bowls

 

Then, assembly time!  My older daughter added grated Parmesan to hers, I added crumbled feta to mine, and my younger daughter and my husband added shredded cheddar to theirs.  I had some filling leftover, so I made a few burritos using large flour tortillas that I had on hand.

Breakfast Biscuit Bowl with Parmesan cheese Breakfast Biscuit Bowl with crumbled feta

 

I was very pleased with how it all turned out, and we will be having this again, and soon!

 

 

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Grocery Store Grabs: 6/7/2013

9 Jun

I actually shopped on Friday, but I was busy with my kids yesterday.  They helped me shop this week, so there is a bit more than I usually get.  Some things weren’t on sale, but the price was still good enough to get for dinners I wanted to make this week.  Still lots of good produce deals out there, hopefully it will continue for a few more weeks.

Grocery Store Grabs: 6/7/2013Here is all we got:

Fry’s:

2 AZ grown cantaloupe at $0.88/ea = $1.76
5 lb bag of AZ grown red potatoes at 2/$4 = $2
2 6 oz packages of blueberries at buy 1, get 1 free = $2.99
2.14 lb bananas at $0.57/lb = $1.22
1.15 lb Roma tomatoes (not shown) at $0.99
1.62 lb broccoli at $0.99/lb = $1.60
0.69 lb of red delicious apples at $1.59/lb = $1.10
2 Hass avocados at $0.88/ea = $1.76
1.50 lb navel oranges at $0.99/lb = $1.49
1 AZ grown hot house cucumber at $0.99/ea = $0.99
2.34 lb California yellow peaches at $0.99/lb = $2.32
0.71 lb red onion at $1.99/lb = $1.41
2 celery at $0.99/ea = $1.98
3 limes at 3/$1 = $1
1 bunch Romaine lettuce at $0.99/ea = $0.99

Safeway:

1.95 lb bananas at $0.57/lb = $1.11 (I got riper ones at Safeway since the Fry’s bananas were all very green)
2.61 lb red seedless grapes at $0.88/lb = $2.30
0.83 lb of red plums at $1.99/lb = $1.65
1 bunch spinach at $1.39/ea = $1.39
1 bunch cilantro at $0.50/ea = $0.50
1 package whole mushrooms at $1.99/ea = $1.99

Total between 2 stores: $32.54

WAY over budget this week, unfortunately, but, I also broke the #1 rule of deal shopping, never take the spouse and kids that aren’t deal crazy like you!  I also did not buy much last week, just bananas, so this is the make up week.  And, I will probably take it easy next week as well, just get a few things.

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Farmer’s Market Finds: 6/6/2013

6 Jun

We had a lot of fun at Farmer’s Market today!

First, we stopped at the Basic Farm 7 table.  Christie had one of her male baby goats, Tiny Tim, at the market with her today, and she let my kids bottle feed him.  She also had onions, feta cheese, jams and jellies, soaps, and lotions.  I got 8 oz of feta cheese for $4 and a bar of unscented soap with goat’s milk for $5.  Here is a picture of my oldest bottle-feeding Tiny Tim:

Feeding Tiny Tim

Next, we stopped at the Hana’s Japanese Bakery table.  She has a variety of baked items and this week had fresh Japanese green tea leaves.  We chose a bag of black sesame cookies and a bag of lemon cookies.  The cookies are $3 each, or $5 when you buy 2, so that’s why we bought 2 to pay $5.

Next, we headed to the Sanctuary Farms table.  She gave us some samples of her chevre and truffles.  Both are very good!  We bought 4 oz of chevre with garlic and chives for $4.  Next week, I think we’ll be buying some of her truffles, yum!

The girls were hungry, so we headed to a new food truck to the Farmer’s Market, J’s Kitchen.  I have heard a lot of good things about her food, so we finally tried it today.  She had samples of mango and avocado salad and banana and brown sugar spring rolls.  Both were delicious!  We got an order of chicken rice noodles and 6 pork spring rolls, plus 2 bottles of water, all for $8.50.

After we sat to eat, I got Hawaiian shaved ice from the Big Woody’s food truck.  We got the small size, which were $2.50 each.  The girls wanted a rainbow of flavors, and it was really tasty and a nice cool treat on a hot day.

K eating her Hawaiian shaved iceS eating her Hawaiian shaved ice

 

 

 

 

While we ate, we listened to banjo music by Don Van Palta.  He let both girls come up and play a song with him.

K playing banjoS playing banjo

 

 

 

 

Finally, we picked up a quart size bag of fresh blackberries from Bob Dirks, who was at the Information booth.  They were $8, and are delicious!

So, here is a picture of all the goodies from today.  Quart size bag of blackberries, garlic and chive chevre, feta cheese, soap with goat’s milk, black sesame cookies, and lemon cookies.

Farmer's Market Finds: 6/6/2013

Looking forward to having fun again next week, and seeing what other goodies we can find!

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Slow Cooker Spicy 9 Bean and Pork Soup

4 Jun

Last fall, on my trip to Willcox, one of the stops was the Bonita Bean Company.  I have been using the pinto beans I purchased to make Refried Beans, but I also had gotten a 9 bean mix I still needed to use.

9 Bean mix from Bonita BeanIt is a 20 ounce bag containing pinto, cranberry, light red kidney, yellow, black, small red, pink, navy, and Great Northern.  I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer to use, along with some green chile and onion, and decided that all would make a good soup.  And, with beans taking so long to cook, I decided the slow cooker was the way to go to make this.  My older daughter and I thought it turned out really well, in fact, we both had a second helping!  Even though I have it labeled as spicy, it’s a  low level of heat, but still a little on the spicy side.  If you don’t have a bean mix, you can make a mix of your own, a great way to use up small amounts of different kinds of beans!

Slow Cooker Spicy 9 Bean and Pork Soup

Slow Cooker 9 Bean and Pork Soup

What you need:

3 cups of a dry bean mix
1 1/2 pounds pork roast or tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green chiles
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

Put beans in a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker.  Add pork next, then the remaining ingredients.  Cook on high for 5-7 hours, or until beans are tender.

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Taco Biscuit Bowls

4 Jun

Recently, Grands biscuits were on sale for $0.99 each, so I picked up a couple of cans.   I know, I know, I’ve been really good about making my own biscuits, but some nights I do still like to have the convenience items.  I’ve had biscuit bowls a couple of times eating out, but haven’t tried making them yet.  There are a few ways to go about it, like baking the biscuits bowl first, then adding your fillings.  However, I decided to bake the biscuit bowl with the filling in it, and tonight, based on what I had, I decided on making a taco filling and serve it with a side of Spanish Rice.  I think the taco was good, but I would prefer finding maybe a corn meal crust to use with this instead.  Also, I’m already thinking of the next filling for the biscuit bowls, I think it will be more of a breakfast bowl, with sausage crumbles, scrambled eggs, onion, cheese, maybe some kind of veggies.  I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it!  I’ll update when I do make them that way.  I baked these in my 2 cup glass Pyrex bakeware.  These haven’t been used to bake before, usually I just use them for storage or when I make pudding.

Taco Biscuit Bowl

 

Taco Biscuit Bowl

What you need:

1 can Grands biscuits
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup salsa
1 cup cheese

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a large skillet, brown  the ground beef.  Stir in water and chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.  Stir well.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray 4 2-cup glass baking dishes with cooking spray.  Take 2 biscuits and press into the bottom and sides of one of the dishes.  Repeat for the other 3 baking dishes.  Next, fill with the seasoned ground beef.  Then, top each with the salsa and the cheese.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and put each of the baking dishes on the baking sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the biscuits become golden brown.  Remove and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

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Grocery Store Grabs: 6/2/2013

2 Jun

So, I haven’t made it to the store yet, but wanted to make sure to post about some great produce deals this week!  These prices will be effective until Tuesday, June 4.

 

Fry’s:

AZ grown cantaloupe: $0.99/ea
AZ grown honeydew: $2/ea
California yellow peaches: $0.99/lb
AZ grown hot house English cucumbers: $0.99/ea
AZ grown 16oz mini peeled carrots: $0.99/ea
AZ grown red tomatoes on the vine: $0.99/ea
AZ grown red potatoes, 5 lb bag: $2/ea
AZ grown mini seedless watermelon: $1.50/ea
Sweet corn: $0.33/ea
Red cherries: $2.99/lb
Broccoli or Cauliflower: $0.99/lb
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries: $2.50/ea
Organic strawberries or blueberries: $3/ea

Also, the Fry’s milk half gallons are $0.88/ea, with a limit of 4.  Another good deal if you use the fuel points, is that all gift cards you buy will give you 4 times the fuel points.  Kroger family store gift cards are excluded, but there are plenty of gift cards to choose from.  With it being time for graduations and Father’s Day, it’s a great way to get extra points.  Or, if you are working on some home improvement projects, stop in and get one for Lowe’s or Home Depot before you shop to get the fuel points.  Fuel points can be used at Fry’s fuel stations, and select Shell and Circle K locations, and you can save up to $1/gallon (every 100 points earns $0.10 off per gallon) up to 35 gallons in one fill-up.  You can learn more here.

 

Safeway:

AZ grown cantaloupe: $0.99/ea
Sweet red cherries: $2.47/ea
Jumbo artichokes: $2/ea
Red, orange, or yellow bell peppers: $1.25/ea
Red seedless grapes: $2.99/lb
Large Hass avocados: $0.99/ea
White or yellow corn: $0.33/ea
Large tropical mangoes: $1/ea
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries: $2.99/ea
Peaches and nectarines: $2.99/lb
Roma tomatoes: $0.99/lb
Organic Flavorosa pluots: $2.99/lb
Organic tomatoes on the vine: $1.99/lb
Organic peeled baby carrots, 1 lb bag: $1.50/ea

Safeway has 1 gallon of their Pantry Essentials milk for $1.89, limit of 2.  Also, with summer here, Powerade is $0.49/ea, limit 15, to stock up on to keep hydrated on the hot days.  Safeway is running a promotion for 2 times the gas rewards points on groceries after adding it on your card with the Just for U program.  They are also running a 4 times the points when you buy gift cards as well.  Best part?  They have now expanded the gas rewards here to be not only at Safeway gas stations (which we didn’t have here), but also at select Chevron and Texaco stations.  Glad to be able to finally use some of the gas rewards from shopping at Safeway.  I did notice that the Chevron stations in town had roadside banners for the Safeway gas rewards program.  You can learn more about the program here.

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Lentil Salad

24 May

I had tried a lentil salad from a local vendor, and decided I wanted to try and make my own.  I usually use lentils in soups, so I was excited to try a salad.  Like pasta salad, Lentil Salad could be done a ton of different ways.  I’m already thinking about what combinations to try next, like maybe tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese.  Plus, lentils are very good for you too.  Always great when something tastes good and is good for you!

Lentil Salad

 

Lentil Salad

What you need:

1 cup lentils (I used Palouse Brand Spanish Pardina Lentils)
1/2 cup seeded and chopped  mini sweet peppers or bell pepper
1/2 cup cucumber, cut in small chunks
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 bunch green onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian blend seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make it:

Rinse lentils and drain.  Place lentils in a medium sauce pan with 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Drain.  Run cold water over lentils and drain.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Place cooled lentils in a large bowl.  Add peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, green onion, parsley, and Parmesan cheese.   Mix together.

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, Italian blend seasoning, salt, and pepper to make the vinaigrette.

Pour the vinaigrette over the lentils and vegetables.  Mix in well to fully coat.  Cover and refrigerate before serving.

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Zucchini & Yellow Squash Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

14 May

What do you do when you don’t want to make a regular pie crust for a quiche?  Make one with mashed potatoes!  I had made a similar quiche a while back, but used broccoli as the vegetable.  Since I have a few bags of zucchini and yellow squash in the freezer, I decided to use that.  I also used up the last of my shredded mozzarella cheese from Basicfarm7.  It’s a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and then add in your favorite veggie, meat, and cheese combination.  Think broccoli, spinach, ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, etc.  Not all together of course, but ideas for ingredients to use in different combinations!  Or, when you have leftovers at Thanksgiving, use leftover mashed potatoes for the crust, and have chopped turkey and cheese for the filling!

Zucchini & Yellow Squash Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

 

Zucchini &Yellow Squash Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

What you need:

For the crust:
2 cups mashed potatoes OR about 2 pounds of potatoes, peeled, boiled, mashed and mixed with 1/4 milk
Olive oil

For the filling:

1/4 olive oil
2 cups zucchini and yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly oil a 9″ deep dish pie plate.  Press mashed potatoes into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.  Brush with more olive oil.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini, yellow squash, and onion to the skillet, and cook until soft.  Stir in parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix together the beaten eggs and shredded cheese.  Stir in the zucchini and yellow squash mixture.  Pour into the mashed potato crust.  Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Teacher Appreciation/End of Year Gifts

10 May

This year, we were very blessed to have amazing teachers for both of our children.  Our younger daughter started in 2-day preschool, and was enjoying it so much, we moved to 3 days a week after the Christmas break.  Her teacher and teacher-aide have been really good with her, making her use her words more since she is so quiet and shy, and we have definitely seen a great change in her through the school year.  She is very much looking forward to going to pre-K 5 days a week, still half days.  Our older daughter started in kindergarten, but moved to 1st grade after the 1st quarter (she has a late birthday, so didn’t make the cut off last year, but was over-ready this year), and her teachers (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) were really great with helping her transition into the class and help her learn and grow throughout the year so she is all set to head to 2nd grade next year.  We have many things to be thankful for, and decided to show our appreciation with a Get Ready for Summer by the Pool or at the Beach themed gift.  I got the inspiration from Lori at My Kinda Rain, she posted a picture on Facebook of some items she was buying at Target for a similar theme.

Teacher Appreciation/End of Year Gift

 

Here is what each gift had:

  • Woven bags: Found at the dollar spot in Target for $3 each
  • Beach towel: Found at K-Mart on sale for $4.99 each.  I folded the towel in thirds, then rolled up leaving part unrolled to come up the back of the bag and stick out of the top.
  • Puzzle book: Found at Target in the magazine section, $3.99 each
  • Pencils: Found at Dollar Tree, pack of 4 for $1
  • Large plastic water cup: Found at the dollar spot at Target for $1 each
  • Flip flops: Found at the dollar spot at Target for $1 each
  • “Fun” drink glass: Found at the dollar spot at Target for $1 each
  • Bag of Flipz pretzels: Found at the dollar spot at Target for $1 each
  • Box of  10 Crystal Light lemonade On-the-go packets: Found at Target for $2.49 each
  • Neutrogena SPF 55 sunscreen with bonus lip balm: Found at Target for $7.99 each
  • After sun aloe: Found at the dollar spot at Target for  $1 each

Total: $27.71 each

Then, we also used construction paper to cut out hearts and they each wrote notes to their teachers.  Well, my older daughter did her own and my younger daughter dictated hers to me to write, but she did write her own name.

My goal had been to spend about $25 for each teacher, and I was just over that.  But, trust me, they deserve it!  Both girls have enjoyed their teachers, and we wanted to make sure to show them that.  The gifts were well received, one is headed to San Diego soon for a trip, and said she will be taking it all along with her.

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