September Once a Month Cooking

I haven't done any OAMC (once a month cooking) since June where I did very little cooking...but a little bit is better than nothing!

I have family coming here over the Labor Day weekend so I'd like to get my plan started now. I was planning a trip to get more pork today and some things I needed, but unfortunately I needed a new fuel pump in my Tahoe. You have no idea how grateful I am that I wasn't on the road by myself or with my kids when it went out. We weren't pulling the camper through the hills...we weren't on our trip to Montana....so yeah, it's $712 that we didn't plan on, but I'm grateful. How can that be? Probably because we have money in the bank. We own vehicles - two of them...both have over 100,000 miles on them. How can it be a surprise that they need to have work done on them. I must admit that it was a surprise only because that's our "new" vehicle. Our other vehicle needs some major work too. But I tell you...money in the bank has a way of changing your stinkin' thinkin'!

Wow - that was off topic, anyway....

I made something yesterday that was a huge hit for breakfast today. I made taco omelet muffins:

1. Scramble 3 eggs...add 2 T. water (if your kid isn't allergic to milk that would be good too - cream even better!)
2. Fry hamburger and add taco seasoning
3. Mix the two together
4. Add whatever else sounds good, cheese, onions, tomatoes, etc.
5. Spray oil in a muffin tin
6. Add mixture until muffin tin is about 2/3 full
7. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes
8. Serve with salsa

They don't look pretty, but they were a huge hit! This made 6 muffins. I think it'd be easier to put this in a 9X13 pan, cut into squares and freeze the squares so you can pull out as many as you need.

Not sure what else I need to whip up and freeze, but it makes your life so much easier. I'll have to look back at what I've done previously and see what fits in with my new cooking plans. If nothing else, having cooked meats on hand will simplify my life! Actually chili and soups that I can send in a thermos would be good as well.

I don't do a true OAMC cooking session where I don't have to cook dinner for the entire month - that's way over my head and too complicated for me. What I have found though is that one day of dedicated cooking a month makes my life so much easier. It's an extremely tiring day, but when I'm playing mom taxi or watching a cross country meet and a volleyball match in the afternoon, I can enjoy those instead of thinking about what I'll serve for dinner.

Are We Eating?

I tried making up a menu plan.

Then I looked in my wallet - why does my money keep disappearing from my envelope? When I become lazy in food preparation, unfortunately I always pay for it later...now that the kids are back in school I'll have more time to record my spending!

For now, I'm cleaning out the fridge/freezer and taking it one day at a time. I was going to run into a store today to grab just a few things, but I'm going to see how long I can make it.

Breakfast was toast and ham
Lunch was chicken salad on a tortilla (note: when one is allergic to wheat don't eat the tortilla!)
Dinner will be pork steaks, zucchini and garden tomatoes - not my garden :-(

Breakfast tomorrow will be a scrambled egg "muffin" with taco meat. I'll have to put a lot of cheese on top because they look disgusting.
Lunch - chicken salad or ham sandwich
Dinner - ???? I should make soup since it's supposed to be 72 degrees. I'll have to dig in the freezer and see what I can find.

Pantry Challenge

I've been spending WAY WAY WAY too much money on food so I'm doing a pantry challenge. Remember my pantry is any "stored food" that I have. Could be in the freezer, fridge or cupboards. We have plenty of fresh and frozen veggies to eat. Some dried fruit and frozen fruit as well.

Monday I made steaks...well technically my husband grilled them
Tuesday we had leftover steaks
Wednesday we had shredded beef taco salads and healthy ice cream
Tonight we are having beer butt chicken on the BBQ and sauteed green beans

The rest of the week will be interesting....we have 4 dozen eggs, canned tomatoes, garlic, onions, frozen cauliflower, broccoli, peas, green beans,  blueberries, strawberries, bananas as well as an assortment of meat.