Shopping

The kids and I went shopping and man was it fun!(NOT) We spent 6 hours in Sams Club and Wal-Mart. Nathalie had a shopping card from Grandad to spend and she used it up on a pony, a dog, a barbie and a strawberry shortcake baby. Thank you grandad! She has been super happy since then playing with her things.
We have been trying to buy a lot of food at once as it saves money and time. Gas is so expensive these days, and the nearest real shopping area is 45 minutes away. The kids can push a cart together while I push a 2nd one and we were able to shop for about 10 wks worth of food.



Keeping meat has been a challenge, its a pain to divide it all up and individually wrap it. So we have tried a new technique. I cut all the meat up into portions and freeze it on a tray for a couple of hours, then put it all in one big plastic bag (by animal of course ie beef, pork etc.) I got the idea from ice glazed chicken breasts bought in a bag, its a great idea and so much easier. I can pull out 3 steaks without thawing a whole bunch, or unwrapping them all and defrosting.
Fruit works the same way, we bought a lot of fruit on sale that was ready to be eaten. While bananas make great bread, what to do with the rest? I cut it up and freeze it just like the meat and bag it for smoothies, muffins, crisps, pies, or even just to snack on frozen.





Next we hope to do a winter garden, and can a lot of food from this. Canning is a better idea as a loss of electricity can cause you to lose freezer food. My friend Amanda in california (I dont know how to do the link thing but her blog is http://www.harmonyacres.blogspot.com/) does a lot of canning and gardening and its a fabulous way to save money and shop less. Who wouldnt want to grow their own groceries???