Thursday notes - food in season

It's already Thursday.    Like you didn't know that.   When you are retired all the days run together.  If I didn't have a schedule, I'd really be messed up.    We do certain chides certain days.   The garbage man comes certain days as well as the recycle man.   lol.

Yesterday, I didn't do the kitchen management,  I made pizza dough and out it in the refrigerator until we were ready for dinner instead and I started cleaning the closet on my studio.    I still have more purging to do.    Supplies get old and are beyond their useful life.    I also watercolor red ice cream cones!    So much kess caloric than the real ones!    LOL.   I liked the fresh citrus colors  

Motivation and new ideas can come from magazines,   I get mine at the goodwill.   Wednesday is senior day and they are only .49 to begin with.    Cooking magazines never go out of style.    I can always gleem something from them.  

How many years has watermelon been a part of summer picnics!    Some foods have taken a hike in prices and have to be relegated to "treat" status.   But, there are still lots of reminders of good food.  

 Corn on the cob - freeze corn that has been blanched in water flavored with a little sugar and salt.  

Don't hesitate to substitute ingredients if an ingredient is something  the family doesn't like or is too expensive.   There is a recipe for ham it up primavera.    I can't copy recipes from a magazine but a lot of times  you can goggle them ,    Substitute cooked chicken pieces for ham or sub fresh green beans for asparagus,   I always have parm or Romano in the house,    I ise it for a lot of things,    Sometimes I have half and half for Italian ice.    It's one of the drinks that o can make that is low on carbs.  

Grilled salmon packets with lemon pepper - yum .   Remember you can use the oven instead and you can wrap on parchment in the oven, or wrap on parchment and then on foil on the grill.    you can find parchment paper at the tree.  

Garlic parmesean orzo.   Just sounds yummy .

Apple panini. With bacon. Sounds yummy too.   Add a salad of mixed greens!  

You can fill a hamburger with almost anything .   Blue cheese. Regular cheese. Herbs.  

Just a few ways to spruce up regular fare without breaking the bank.  

Groceries on the cheap doesn't have to mean beans and rice everyday.   It's a matter of taking some time to research new recipes, use ones that don't take all day, and find your ingredients at a RBP.   Fortunately, when fruits and veggies are in season, they also are at their lowest price.  

I have taken to wash my veggies in vinegar water.    I get it at Costco cheap by the two gallon jugs.   You can also use vinegar to disinfect amd clean things, and kill weeds - just add Epsom salts and a little dishwashing soap.   Some people use it on the washer too as a rinse agent.  
The tree has cleaning vinegar, but it isn't any less expensive than buying food grade and then you can use it for anything.  

I am  finding that prepping anything I need to prep on the morning is an easy way to make the dinner hour less hectic.   Between having meat already cooked, amd veggies already washed, dinner is a snap.   I include granddaughter because it is easier to include her, than it is to clean up the messes she can get into of left to her own devices.  It also build self confidence and teaches her that bread doesn't come out of a plastic wrapper and dinner doesn't come from the fast food line!    


Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 Perspective . The  emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stabll/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. 

It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person. 

  You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking mend by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.