Please excuse the wandering nature of this post. I have lots of little things going on, but not a lot to say about any one of them.
We skipped our box this week, for the first time since signing up. My husband left this morning for a week of travel, and I knew there was absolutely no way the kids and I would make a dent in the box. Besides, we still have some miscellaneous items left from past weeks to use.
My goal this week is to eat all these straggler fruits and veggies, so that when we do get the next box, we have a fresh start.
While I am at it, I thought it would be a fun challenge to see if I make it a whole week without spending a single dime. We have tons of food in the pantry and freezer, and I would love to start digging through it all. There are surely things in there that I have forgotten ever existed. I shouldn't need to go to the grocery store at all. I have enough potatoes to feed us if it comes down to it! We will be busy doing our usual things (school, karate, art class, cub scouts), so we will be busy enough that we don't need to go spend money anywhere else.
I didn't do anything to prepare for our week of no spending... I didn't stock up on groceries (as a matter of fact I don't think I have been grocery shopping for at least 4 or 5 days). I didn't fill the tank with gas. I think I have about a half tank right now.
This is the kind of challenge I think is a blast. When we run out of something, I think it is fun to see what I can substitute from what we have. I imagine we will run out of some lunchbox staple or another... or maybe milk. We'll see what we can do at that point!
Speaking of potatoes, (I was speaking of potatoes. A couple of paragraphs ago. Stay with me...) I have been trying to get to the bottom of the pile. I made roast potatoes for breakfast last weekend, mashed potatoes during the week, and yesterday I found a recipe for Potato Armadillos. I thought that the kids would appreciate the whimsical appearance, and the recipe is very basic... potatoes, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oil. Nothing there to hate! Best of all, it used up SIX potatoes. Score! And it was a hit. I will definitely be doing those again.
So how did I happen to come across a recipe for potato armadillos? Well, I subscribed, eons ago, to the Family Fun weekly recipe ideas email. I usually delete it without even opening it. This time, though, the subject line said "Ideas for meatless meals." I figured that meatless has to be vegetable-heavy, no? That little man running the internet found my email address as well, and threw veggie recipes at me again! This time, however, I was in a more receptive mood, and I looked at the website. Not only were the potatoes a hit, there are a couple more things I might try.
And so, the week begins. I made lemonade this morning, using up 6 lemons that were in the crisper drawer. That is the beginning. I will conquer the vegetables this week, I will!
Come back all week to see what I run out of, how I make up for it, how many potatoes and onions one family can eat in a week, and at what point the kids mutiny, grab my credit card, and hightail it to the grocery store.
