Tuesday, January 5, 2010

318 jars of food on the wall...318 jars of food...take one down...pass it around...317 jars of food on the wall...


I know it's only January 5th... but I'm really enjoying my self imposed "reducing the grocery bill" challenge. Had I not publicly vowed to cut our grocery bill down to under $400 a month I think I would have bought a bunch of junk food by now...

While I was house cleaning today I came up with another brilliant idea (I think)... I counted all the home canned food items in the pantry...

There are 318 jars of canned food in there... Holy Crap... that's a lot of food to eat by the end of June... (when the canning process starts all over again)...if there's any hope of us eating all this food we are going to have to consume an average of 2 cans a day from here on out...


That's a lot of food people...
So in order to help me (us) consume all this food I've decided to do a "weekly meal" update each week...

Each week I will set out the jars I hope to use up and then I will follow it up with what I made/used them for... I think it will also help me in the dinner planning department... I know it may not look like that much food to eat... especially when there are people out there who eat like this every day... and especially when you remember this is how people used to eat... before all that evil processed food came into the picture...

But...I'm looking forward to it...

Okay... so I have a question... (because I'm an idiot) I accidentally ordered "dried lima beans" last year instead of "lima bean SEED"... (what's the difference anyway?)

Soo... how do I cook dried lima beans?
Anyone....Anyone?

6 comments:

  1. Ok, we've never actually made lima beans but here is our tried and true recipe for dried beans (meatless):

    1. Soak overnight OR bring the beans to a boil and let them soak for a couple hours then drain.

    2. Add chicken broth and/or water plus a jar of that homemade tomato sauce to cover and bring to a boil.

    3. Toss in diced carrots, celery, garlic, onions, perhaps a bit of kale and parsley, and any dried seasonings you like. Savory goes great with beans. For added flavor we sometimes add a little brown sugar, catsup, or barbecue sauce.

    4. Simmer until liquids are absorbed and beans are soft.

    5. Serve with homemade cornbread.

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  2. I think this is a great idea...especially since we have some similar things in our pantries. I can always use new dinner ideas!

    I would soak (overnight)and cook the beans like any other dry beans. See if you an find cooking times online for that particular kind.

    Or plant them and hope for a magic beanstalk. You could always try that.

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  3. Hi Mavis ~ Wouldn't they be like any dried beans in that you soak and then cook? Just wondering...maybe you could google it and see what comes up. Hope you have success!

    And what a great store of food right in your own pantry...that should really help in the budget department! :)

    Have a great day!
    Camille

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  4. I don't know, but I bet if you just treat them like dried beans (soak, boil, and simmer) they'll turn out plenty tasty.

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  5. Ummmm HELLO..... Exactly what day were they passing out directions on "how to cook dried beans?".... and where was I?

    Thanks for all your suggestions... I've decided to try and cook them for dinner...I'll let you know how it goes :)

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  6. Oh, dear! You mean beans don't come from a can?! I'm glad you wrote this post...I have a lot to learn! ;)

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