Savings and Goals Journal #24

We’ve gotten some snow this week. It usually doesn’t snow much here, nor does it last long before it melts away. BooBoo the dog enjoys playing in the snow, so I took her for a run.

In the Kitchen

I’ve noticed I’ve gotten away from planning a meatless meal each week. Lentils were on sale when I was at the store, so I bought a bag. I am going to try this recipe for tacos soon.

When beef was on sale last week, I bought some to make beef stew to pressure can. I haven’t canned beef stew before, but I think it will be good to have on hand for quick meals during this cold weather. I canned seven quarts. There was one quart extra so we had it for lunch for two days. It was delicious! I figured the cost to be around $2.25 per quart. Finding soup on sale at the store might be less expensive, but I prefer the taste of homemade soups.

This week’s meal plan:

• Sunday: Leftovers
• Monday: Soup and grilled cheese
• Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Turkey Pot Pie
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Pancakes and eggs, fruit

In the Garden

My seeds are sprouting! Within a few days of planting I had romaine lettuce and chard seedlings popping up! I’m still waiting for the spinach. I’m always amazed at the fact that a tiny seed can sprout and grow and provide so much food.

I’m working on finding some plants that will provide winter interest in the garden. We have a red twig dogwood, and a few evergreen bushes so far.

I was tidying the kitchen garden area and discovered a few Swiss chard plants in a planter. I put the planter in the greenhouse and they have started to grow!

I’ve decided I’m going to move some of the strawberry plants from the small garden over to the kitchen garden in the spring. The kitchen garden is adjacent to the grandkids’ play yard, so the strawberries will be handy to snack on. I’ll move the remaining strawberry plants from the in-ground garden to a nearby planter. I think they will be easier to maintain in a planter.

Home and Family

The grandkids had lots of fun decorating Christmas cookies. I have finished the calendar I’m making for gifts and we’re finished decorating outdoors. Now I’m wrapping presents and working on sewing projects. I’m going to be baking a few things for gifts as well.

A friend gave us a large bag of clothing in my grandson’s current size, so we were able to replace some of his jeans that had worn through the knees.

My daughter who got engaged at Thanksgiving got married this week. They kept things super-simple and were married at the courthouse.

Stay warm, stay safe, and have a wonderful week!