Freezer Burritos

It's Pantry Challenge month and I've started a new thing that I'll be doing for years to come - freezer burritos! After the December food madness I had some leftover ham from Christmas dinner, chopped it up and wrapped it in a tortilla with some cheese and put it in the freezer. Viola! Instant hot pockets. I did the same with leftover refried beans.
For dinner the other night we had super burritos with chicken, leftover rice, beans and cheese. We served them smothered where I poured some green enchilada sauce that I had leftover and frozen in the fridge, melted cheese, fresh salsa and sour cream. With the leftovers I wrapped them up (unsmothered) and froze them for a later day.

I get the tortillas in a giant pack for less than $5 at Sam's and they last forever. I'm now in the habit of wrapping up leftovers in them, it makes a great and inexpensive (practically free) lunch. Just heat up the wraps in the microwave and it's as delicious as that!

John's Famous Cheese Biscuits

These cheese biscuits are apparently famous around his family. I wouldn't know of their goodness since John has never made them for me in the 5+ years we have been together but here is the recipe for you to enjoy even if I never will.

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 butter or margarine

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1. Measure flour, baking powder and salt in bowl

2. Cut in butter until crumbly

3. Add water and cheese, stir to moisten

4. Drop tablespoon sized amounts of patter onto greased baking sheet

5. Bake in 425F oven for 10-15 minutes

Pantry Challenge Progress

Well, so far I have kept to my goals! It's really hard though. It's like when you open up your closet and say, "I have nothing to wear" when you're looking at a whole closet full of clothes. I keep saying, "I have nothing to eat" but really there is a ton of food. I've been in a funk this week or so as far as food goes I'm really hungry but nothing sounds good. I don't think this funk is pantry challenge induced, more like I indulged too much at Christmas induced, but it doesn't help.

The Pantry Challenge - I ACCEPT!!!

Money Saving Mom (my frugal hero) has a challenge she is doing to eat only from the pantry in the month of January 2010 and has encouraged us to join in. Well... I ACCEPT!

This is what I'm going to do -

1. Go to the grocery store no more than 3 times in the month of January.

2. Not spend more than $75 and try to only get the essentials.

3. Pay a little more in our fast offerings.

4. Blog here about what I do, and different things that I create just using the food I already have.

Here are some pictures of some of the food I already have (I have food stashed in other places too but I didn't think we needed to see every little thing) . I'll take some photos at the end of the month just to see how much we ended up using. This is a fun challenge for me as well as a way to get creative, save some money and use what we already have. As you can see my fridge is bursting at the seams and probably couldn't handle anymore anyway.

I did want to point out a truly AMAZING site that I just discovered tonight. This woman built up her food storage and then her family of seven had to live off of it for almost 2 years. She rarely goes shopping. I have never thought eating from food storage could be wonderful, amazing or delicious but she has proved me wrong. She has several beautiful and delicious recipes of food she makes from her storage. Check out HER SITE and be shocked and amazed.

P.S. Money Saving Mom has has a goal to pay for a house with 100% of it in cash. I've been following her this past year as she worked toward her goal and she finally met the 100% mark and will be buying her first home the beginning of this year. I literally shed a proud tear for her.

Easy Grout Cleaner

My bathtub is gross. Or I should say, was. The white grout collects mildew like you wouldn't believe especially in the humid climate we are in. I have scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with little results. The other day I discovered a great solution -

Lysol 4-in-1 All Purpose Cleaner with Bleach

I just sprayed it all over the tile and that's it. I let it sit until the morning and all the grout was white again (so was the caulk)! Miracle! The tub itself still needs a good scrub but at least the grout is clean. So if you're at a loss with your grout try this.

Broiled Asparagus

This recipe is so easy and so delicious. It makes asparagus so tasty and the perfect texture.


fresh Asparagus
oilve oil
lemon pepper

1. Place in baking pan and lightly coat the asparagus with oilve oil and sprinkle with lemon pepper.
2. Place in oven under the broiler for 5-15 minutes (time depends on how much you use and how thick the asparagus is). You will want the asparagus to just barely get a tiny hint of gold.

Sweet Baslamic and Basil Dressing

This is a delicious dressing and the sugar sweetens the pungent vinegar for a nice balsamic flavor that is subtle and sweet.

1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic dressing
1-3 Tb. brown sugar (to taste)
1 tsp. dried basil or use fresh if you have it
1 small clove garlic minced or a few dashes of dried
fresh ground pepper to taste

Whisk together, blend in food processor or blender or shake in a sealed container.

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Serving suggestions.

1. Cut up tomatoes, purple onion and cucumbers. Coat in dressing and add fresh mozzarella or feta cheese. Eat with warm french bread or place mixture in a pita pocket.
2. Use french bread to make a sandwich. Add leftover steak or roast, purple onion and cheese (feta is a good one but all kinds work). Broil in the oven until lightly toasted and cheese is melty. Dip sandwich in dressing mixture.
3. A dip for garlic bread.
4. Any salad.