Meal and Garden Planning

Meal planning this week went even better than expected. Since we have been doing our food shopping on the front end, just after being paid, the number of meats and veggies have lasted beyond what was needed. That means we don't have to buy as much on the next check.

We make it worth our while to drive up to Climax Georgia and load up on hamburger, stew meat, sausage, canned jams and relishes as well as frozen vegetables such as field peas, okra and corn. How I wish Jones' Meats sold chicken, we'd have it made!

Do I still buy the occasional DVD, loads of coffee, more wine and ammo...of course. But purchasing as much of the food stocks first has changed how I budget. I know I mentioned Evernote before as a means to jot down menus and goals but, it has truly helped me focus on those things...the goals and budgeting.

Last week's fare included some super easy meals.

Smoked sausage with lots of Vidalia onions and mashed potatoes.



Saute a large portion of onions, getting them nice and soft with a browned edge. Now toss your smoked sausage in a frying pan with the onions. This is perfect if it's too cold outside to use the grill. Served with some mashed potatoes and a favorite vegetable...you're all set.

Charcoal grilled lamb chops, asparagus peas and corn
Set chops in a container you can seal with a few good dollops of olive oil, fresh rosemary springs and sliced garlic. Let it sit overnight. Next day the chops can be grilled while asparagus is roasting and corn is on the boil. Serve with Zinfandel.



Lemon Tray Bake has become a favorite. Easy and delicious. Click on name to see full recipe and enjoy!



This Saturday instead of making a massive shopping trip we are attending a gardening workshop. We have enough meats in the freezer to see us through so...I would love to learn more about square foot gardening.

We have a wee bit of acreage - a third of it is woodland and swampy but there is a large part of the pasture which would be ideal for a vegetable garden. It gets sunshine for roughly 9 hours a day. The issue may be deer and rabbits which destroyed previous gardening attempts. So, I am ready to have fresh tomatoes and peppers again. Please wish us luck.

First step though is attending Lets Get Growing: Planning your Spring Food Garden. Of course the planning stage is needed for any project but I am also in need of motivation. Hopefully this workshop will be informative as well and motivational for me.



Stay tuned for a pictorial of building planting boxes. Oh yeah...and a deer proof fence.

Never exciting, mostly delicious, always have wine.