Kimmie in Real Life (week 10)

CLEAN OUT THE
Fridge and Freezer
is what I did this week!

I LOVE Bountiful Baskets
but this is not really conducive for summer-time as you have to be around on the weekends to pick it up and we have been out of town the past two weekends and we will also be out of town these next few weeks as well.
I decided to clean out my fridge
and use up our "wilted" celery, delicious corn, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots we got from the last basket we purchased 2 weeks ago.

I realized how true one of my favorite quotes by Catherine Pulispher was this week
"Being frugal does not mean being cheap!
It means being economical and avoiding waste."

It was rewarding
to make delicious soup and Noodle Parmesan out of veggies that most people would have thrown out because they had gone "limp" but they made delicious dinners that my kids and hubby just loved!!

We were only together for 3-1/2 days as a family this week and then it was just Tracy and I as our kids enjoyed spending four days with Grandparents, so I don't have as much to share this week.

These are the food highlights
from our time together:

This is one of Tracy's yummy creations
that we had for Sunday dinner. I always forget how yummy it is.
(I'm not much of a pasta lover, but this is SO good)
Click here for recipe

Since it was a "Clean out the fridge/freezer" week,
I noticed a container of Huckleberry ice cream we had made a few weeks ago and so I put this in our Vita-Mix, added in bluberries, strawberries and pineapple and I had the kids begging and promising we could make this smoothie up again!
Delicious!

This soup recipe was perfect
for using up celery and carrots
and the leftovers made PERFECT lunch the next day.
Since the noodles in the soup absorbed quite a bit of the liquid after it had been refrigerated overnight, it was quite thick and so the leftovers were more like a "goulash", but adding a scoop of cottage cheese on topped felt like you were eating Lasagna and was perfect!
Yummy Minestrone Soup recipe click here

It was time to have a
"Primitive Bread making day"
and so I baked bread from start to finish with just my hands (no mixers at all).
This Whole Wheat Bread recipe is the one I have been making for the past 20 years.

For this yummy, easy to make bread recipe click here

It seems like every time I make up Spaghetti for dinner, there is always just a little bit of sauce leftover and no noodles.
SO, in moments like this, I just put the leftover sauce in a Zip-loc freezer bag and freeze it and then on nights, when we are having a light dinner and want to make up some Bread Sticks, I just pull the sauce out, heat it up and we have something yummy for dipping delicious hot Bread Sticks.

As I was cleaning out the fridge,
I had a container of frosting leftover from making cupcakes a few weeks ago.
Lucky that we had one lonely package of graham crackers left and we frosted them up and it made the perfect afternoon snack on a hot summers day.

When I came across the package of Graham Crackers in our food storage room, I also came across our last package of Crackers.
As I was pulling out fruit from our freezer to make a smoothie, I noticed a package of Crab flakes and so I made up a yummy crab dip to enjoy with our crackers.

RECIPE:
1 package crab flakes
2 large slices of onion finely chopped
4-5 stalks of celery finely chopped
about 1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
1 to 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
about 1 to 2 Tbsp. dry Ranch Salad Dressing mix sprinkled on...
mix altogether, let chill and enjoy with crackers and veggies

This may not look like the tastiest lunch,
but it was by far my favorite meal this week!
It was because I was on a day hike with my best friend and hubby.
We hiked into and explored the Darby Wind Cave
and then sat on some comfy rocks while we watched the waterfall and ate apples, bean dip, (Tracy had bought a can of Bean Dip to make yet another backpacking stove) chips and Homemade Granola Bars.
July 24th was absolutely
100% perfect in every way!

July 18th to 24th

Sunday
Creamy Noodle Parmesan
Apple Slices

Monday
Steel Cut Oats
(Tracy) Leftover Noodle Parmesan, apples pudding cups
(kids) Tuna Melts, Smoothies
(snack) Cantaloupe and Hot Bread out of the oven and jam
Minestrone and Whole Wheat Bread

Tuesday
Steel Cut Oats
Leftover Minestrone and Cottage Cheese,
Cantaloupe, Pudding Cups
Corn on the Cob, Salad, Bread Sticks and dipping sauce
Pecan Pie Bars

Wednesday
Steel Cut Oats
(Tracy had lunch at the District Office)
(kids)
Ethan has leftover Minestrone & Bread Sticks
Jade had leftover salad and Bread Sticks
(snack)
Frosted Grahams, Bananas

Thursday
Steel Cut Oats
Crab Dip, Crackers, Apples Pecan Pie Bars
DATE NIGHT!! Went and split Fajitas at Gringo’s...brought home the leftovers

Friday
Steel Cut Oats
Apples, Crab Dip and Crackers
(dinner) Leftover Fajitas and Lime Drink

Saturday
Steel Cut Oats
DAY HIKE TO Darby Canyon Wind Cave
Trail Food….bananas, grapes, Homemade Granola Bars, Apples, Chips and Dip, Jerky, Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s (chips, jerky and M&M's were all pulled from our food storage room)
After our day of hiking we enjoyed burgers at Burger King in Driggs Idaho

The Second highlight of my week was...
my kiddo's made it home safe and sound
and the first words uttered out of Jade's mouth were:
"I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow to have Steel Cut Oats and will you make some yummy soup for dinner"?

Life is busy, busy, but OH so Good!
It's going to be a hectic next two weeks with three days going on a Pioneer Youth Trek this week and then preparing for and going on a four day backpacking excursion next week so
"Kimmie in Real Life" will return on August 10th!

Have a Happy, Healthy
and most of all FUN week!