Stocking up was so worth it!

I had so many people tell me to "take a break" and "is it really worth the work?" while I was putting up my 530# tomato season last summer.  Honestly, I see that I didn't stock up enough green peppers (diced), nor onions, but we learn each year too.  I need to freeze more homegrown asparagus too.  I really miss it this time of year.

Was the work worth it?  

Absolutely.

The weather is terrible today - ice, slush, high wind and snow on the way....who wants to go out to the store in this weather (unless you have to go to work of course).
 
Dinner prep from yesterday - pulled homemade noodles from the freezer.  I also pulled some chicken, a jar of home canned BBQ sauce, some potatoes and some frozen green beans.  All the work for the real food was worth it.

I would have loved to make a beef and noodle dinner, but these vegetarians in my home had me thinking of something else.

I made a mushroom sauce with leftover cream cheese and sour cream with the noodles, made mashed potatoes, and then put the chicken in the "crocky" with the BBQ sauce.  This made every one happy.  By the way, this last recipe I used for canning BBQ sauce is a keeper.  Best flavor yet!

Spaghetti squash breakfast frittata!  I almost tossed in a chopped jalapeno ring, but decided to leave out the cheese and the heat.  Bad move.  Not much flavor.  I made it with mushrooms, onion, a tiny clove of garlic, kale, chives and eggs.  It was good, but needs a bit more flavor.  I got my greens anyway.  So did the rest of the family.

I see so many diet programs this time of year, and it really gets on my nerves.  I just turn off the TV (which was a bad habit I got after getting home from the hospital), and get to work now.  If people just ate real food, and rotated the sources with good, real, healthy food, they wouldn't need to waste money on such "diet" fads.  So sad that America looks for so many "quick" fixes for their lives.  I hope I have taught my kids better.

Okay.  Off my soap box.

What needs restocked already?

- meatballs (never got the chance with getting sick)
- green peppers, diced and sliced
- onions
- pre-mashed and frozen potatoes
- pre-mashed and frozen sweet potatoes
- organic meats
- homemade breads
- butter (I like to freeze extra over winter, and never got the chance)


What's being pulled from storage for dinner tonight?

- frozen stuffed green garden peppers (YUM!), sweet potatoes from the "pretend root cellar" and maybe a side veggie to go with it all.  The peppers have meat, so vegetarians will need something.

Have a wonderful Tuesday today!  Life it too short to let drama flood your good mood, to let chaos wreck your happy mojo, and it's too short to spend it all day on electronics (tell my kids that, ha ha!).  

Today.....I choose.

Or just crack open a bottle of wine, and say the "heck with it."