Another Late Night...

It's dark thirty and I'm still up...trying to get it together to get out of dodge. I knew that motherhood wasn't for the faint of heart but GOLLY!

We are really watching our food budget and so my normal mode of operating would have had me at Walmart in the frozen food section picking up a bunch of convenience, "nuke-ready" foods...but as luck the Lord would have it, my heart has blossomed into that of a mother who actually cares desires to see her children eat well in her absence. Also, eating foods prepared by Mom costs less :)

So last night, I planned out a menu for the next week and a half. I tried to use as much stuff as possible that was already in my pantry so I wouldn't spend unnecessarily. Then I tried to order my meals where I could "bulk cook" and use the resulting food for multiple recipes. Anyway, I left my house for the Walmart 3 minutes down the street at 11pm (I got home at 12:30am...crazy I know). I spent right at $120 for groceries and that included meat (actually 3 chickens on sale and some lunch meat), paper towels, paper plates/cups, and diapers. It also included a large package of frozen corndogs, instant oatmeal, a frozen lasagna, and a couple of other "snacky" items for backup food when Antie or Granny need something quick. I was very proud of myself!. Here's a picture of one of my menu pages...



So here's what I've been working on today.



That's pinto beans soaking in the silver pot. We'll have beans and cornbread for lunch tomorrow and the next day this will become bean burritos for dinner. Chicken Tortilla soup is what's in both the white plastic and clear plastic bowl. Both were cooling but the clear goes into the fridge for the kids to eat in a couple of days and the other will be poured into a plastic storage bag then put into the freezer to help me out when I get back home and don't feel like cooking.

Bessie, my 11 year old, loves to chop and dice and decided to lend a hand. I taught her how to clean a chicken, season, and decorate it for the crockpot.




This bird will help me make chicken enchiladas and a chicken pot pie to put away for my family (and no...I'm not going to make the crust from scratch).

I tell ya...I feel like Proverbs 31 material TONIGHT! Well...I would have felt even better if I had gotten around to making bread for my kids before I left but my husband told me to quit while I was ahead reserve my energy and just pick up a couple of loaves from the store (I hate when I get backed into a corner and have to do this...makes me feel like a failure...can you tell I'm a perfectionist?)

Oh, by the way, I closely follow the recipes linked above...but...I get a little creative at the end making them like I want them to taste. The tortilla soup gets a couple of cans of black beans not called for in the original recipe as well as a tablespoon of cumin versus a teaspoon. I didn't have Cilantro, and I didn't use green chiles or enchilada sauce because of spicyness. I add a can of tomato sauce instead. Confusing enough? Awww come'on...I'm trying to let my inner chef out :)

So I'm off to catch a wink of sleep before I wake up and keep on chugging along. I figure I can go comatose once I get on the plane ...