Tag: Food

Cleaning and Organizing – Freezer and Deep Freezer

On By jackiblosblackisIn Cleaning, House, OrganizationLeave a comment

I finally, really, got around to organizing the deep freezer. Now about a month or so ago I had my Aunt stop by. I gave her about half of the contents out of the deep freezer. Most of it was meat that would get beyond eating before we got around to it. There was also quite a bit that would be better for the dogs. However, with Galaxy’s allergies I could not give it her. I in turn also dealt with the freezer.

First photo is of the freezer. It is not bad but you can see there are things in there that should truly be in the deep freezer. The lamb roast, cornish hens, and even shrimp do not belong here.

The second photo is of the deep freezer. This does not look like it was ever emptied. Things like the fruit and veggies do not belong in here. I also cannot find anything. Even if I wanted to cook a protein it would be impossible to find.

I bought two stack-able blue bins with handles from a local chain store. I think there were $10CAD each. I took the dimensions and looked online before choosing. I had chosen two different bins. I looked through the store and could not find the other one that was suppose to be in stock. I think these were the better choice anyways.

This bottom bin I have put all of the lamb into (minus the roast as I had not done the freezer yet). There is ground, sausage, meatball, and roast lamb all in there. Now the reason there is so much lamb. Missy needs to be use to the protein before we go to visit her family in China. This will common for us to eat in the area we are going and I do not want her possibly getting sick while we are there.

The top blue bin contains all other proteins. The only thing that is not actually in there is pork. I do not like the taste what so ever. I am not a bacon eater (I use it in cream soups only because I cannot get that salt ratio right with out it). I think there is a bit of ham in the pizza slices pack and I do have pancetta somewhere in the mess as well.  I tend to use pancetta over bacon.

One the left hand side I have boxed items stacked. Such as veggie burgers, breaded chicken, and I have a loaf of garlic bread behind that. On the right hand side I have more butter than I know what to do with! There is a bison pie in there too from a local producer and I have since added some quick breakfast options.

On to the freezer! All of the vegetables have been added here. In the back there are a couple bags of fruit. Most of which came out of the deep freezer.

The bottom left hand side is some proteins. Breakfast sausage, bread chicken fries, and I found the pancetta. On the right hand side I have a huge bag of mixed berries that would not fit up top. There are potato wedges and veggie tots(?). It mostly is stuff that I need to use up sooner than later or one off purchases. Stuff that I will forget about if it is not in here.

While I did this, I took a full inventory. This should help me figure out what to cook (it has not done that yet ha-ha) and help when shopping. I hate when things go bad in the freezer. I also hate being in the freezer aisle, seeing things at a good deal, and not knowing what I already have.

So far the system has worked out for me. I do need to really get use to using the inventory system for everything. I do not think I will be changing anything soon. I do need to inventory my pantry though with the expire dates.

My First Time Container Gardening – Week Ten and Eleven

On By jackiblosblackisIn Gardening, vegetablesLeave a comment

I missed last week although I took pictures. I will post both sets. As soon as I think things are up I tend to take a step or two back. All that time I sat there wondering of I should switch to vlogging I could have just written this post. I really do like blogging I just need to get my rhythm back. Anyways onto the topic.

Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Eleven

My beans are nearing the end of their life. I f there were only two of the plants in the pot they would have done even better. I have gotten a decent amount from the plants and there are still some coming in. I think for my first time planting any kind of beans I have done quite well.

Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Ten

I got about five off the plant in week ten. This last weekend I picked closer to ten. Galaxy is in love with beans though. She stole a few of them this past weekend. These ones initially have a sweeter taste than the green and yellow ones mom grows. I have yet to actually cook them though.

Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Eleven

The Black Yum Yum has made a huge amount of growth. There are no signs that is getting to cold for them at night either.

Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Eleven

These ones as well have made quite the growth spurt too. However now that they have gotten bigger. I believe they are two different tomato plants. I will know for sure if they ever come to harvest. There leaves look nothing like each other though, I will try to remember to get close ups this coming week.

Every time we go out back Galaxy has to check on the plants. She has not tried to eat directly off any plants excluding berry bushes (knock on wood).

Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Eleven

She does steal everything after it has been picked though. So far beans seem to be her favourite. She did really seem to like the peas at moms last week too.

That is it for today. Don’t forget to follow and like us on facebook at Chocolate Milks Cows!

Weekly Menu: January 24, 2016

On By jackiblosblackisIn Food, MenuLeave a comment

This will be the first post of this kind. I did a DIY of a Weekly Menu Planner. I have been using it, although it has a been a long adjustment (I know less than a month and I feel like its been forever). The second week I did not update and the third week I did not really follow it. I had things that seemed to go bad quickly and I went out for dinner/lunch with my Mother the one day. I think I have this figured out though. There are going to be some items that I prepare on Sunday for certain meals. A good example of this would be my dressing for coleslaw. It is a basic cream/vinaigrette so we (our whole family) also use it for all kinds of salads.

Here is my menu for the week. I like how it looks so hopefully I can stay with it. I will let you know at the end of the week anyways!

January 24 2016

Sunday- Butter Chicken, I think this is pretty self explanatory

Monday – Spaghetti Squash, this all depends if the squash is still good or not. I will use a red (tomato) sauce and also add a meatless chicken cutlet. I think its similar to a chicken parmesan (I could be wrong but it might be healthier too). I love it!

Tuesday – Some Like it Hot, this is a name off one of the local restaurants menus and I really don’t know what else to call it ha-ha. Pasta with an alfredo sauce, corn, mushrooms, onion, and shrimp. This is a HOT dish, I use crushed peppers in the alfredo sauce and when I boil the pasta I put in chilli infused oil. You can feel the burn on your lips 😛

Wednesday – Turkey and Coleslaw, for the most part straight forward. I will still have NAAN bread left over so I will use a piece of that. Top it off with coleslaw and the turkey burger. Maybe a couple other ‘burger’ toppings depending on how I feel.

Thursday – Stir Fry, the type will all depend on what I am feeling that day.

Friday – Fried Veggie Sandwich, what ever veggie I need to use up in the fridge will get fried.

Saturday – Left Overs, now if there are no left overs I consider it an open day for what ever I feel like having.

Food: the Good and the Bad

On By jackiblosblackisIn FoodLeave a comment

I love to cook food and I love to eat it even more. Food does not seem to be such a fan of me though. My body does not handle breads or meats very well. Now this saves on my food bill like no tomorrow. However I can cook like you’re grandmother (assuming she was a good cook). Not only can I do some serious home style (western and German) meals; my exotic cooking is not terrible either. I miss having people around who can eat this stuff and seeing them truly enjoy it.

The other problem I have is that I am only one person (not a person who eats a whole lot either). So, I get to eat left overs for the next couple days (3 days max). Sometimes it just feels so boring. My other problem is that I still find myself cooking the poor mans way. I do not have to do that anymore, I have not had to get my food from the food bank in six years! I want to get over this hump, I worked hard to be able to cook/eat with a little flair.

I am Turning People

On By jackiblosblackisIn PersonalLeave a comment

No I do not mean that I am changing peoples thoughts or beliefs. I do however keep showing people that eating healthier is just as quick and tastes so much better. Really it has saved me a load of money too. Recently I was hanging out back with the dogs and the neighbours son. I had yet to cook supper and I started talking about food. We got on the conversation of real vs processed food.

I was planning on making spaghetti squash with fake chicken, topped off with a marinara sauce. Which takes a total of 45 minutes, so I invited him over to try it. It was a hit! I mean to be fair I did use jarred marinara sauce only because I did not want to take the time to make my own. It definitely was not one of my best meals for that reason.

I am always doing something else when I am cooking though. To me it does not matter if it takes twenty minutes or if takes ninety minutes. I’m cleaning in between mixing or checking or adding the next ingredient (sometimes I am even so lazy that I watch TV instead of cleaning).

Do not get me wrong I never judge people for what they eat. I have issue sometimes with people that feed their children nothing but fillers with no nutrients. I keep that opinion to myself however. I have no problem educating someone or showing them how to cook. I have always adjusted my cooking style to how the other person normally eats anyways. The only thing I refuse to cook is pork, I have maybe cooked it three times in my life. I have never liked it and I would not want to make someone sick from cooking it improperly.