My Top 5 Freezer to Dinner Plate Food Items

Redbeard likes to make fun of me for my addiction to saving money.  If I can get a bag of corn for five cents cheaper by buying the offbrand I will.  (Okay, maybe it isn't that extreme.)  Either way, I love a good bargain and definitely a quick meal!  Out on the farm, you never know when your husband is going to tell you ten minutes before lunchtime that he will be there and you weren't expecting him.  Or you might be helping the farmer and he expects food ten minutes after you get back.  (Does this happen to anyone else?)  There is a need for quick meals at times and I have found delicious options!

1. Kroger Buffalo Wings -  If you like wings as much as Redbeard and I, you will love this product!  They taste just as good as what you get in a restaurant and you don't even have to leave the house.  The price is better too!  They are $5.99 for 20 wings and you can get them anywhere that carries Kroger brand.  Warning: they are addictive and a little on the spicy side!
Kroger buffalo wings from Dillions

2. Great Value Breakfast Sandwiches - If you are like me, before I know it the morning is gone and I haven't eaten breakfast!  My mom had these sandwiches when I visited a few weeks ago and I was hooked from the start.  The first thing I noticed was how the whole house smelled like I had just made sausage patties, eggs, and biscuits.  You can cheat for breakfast and if you have company over, no one will know the difference!  After I tasted them, I knew I would be buying these like crazy.  I eat one for breakfast just about every morning.  It saves time in the morning and I am satisfied until lunch.  They have sausage, ham, or canadian bacon for meats and biscuit, croissant, or English muffin for bread choice.  You can find them at your local Wal-Mart, four in a package. 
Sausage, egg, and cheese croissant from Wal-Mart

3. Frozen vegetables -  Duh, right?  Well I don't make them in a pan on the stove like most people would.  I stick them in a bowl and microwave them until they are ready.  They taste just as good to us and it is so much faster and fewer dishes.  We pour out what we want to eat in a bowl, add some plastic wrap, and throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes or until toasty warm.  If you think this might hurt the beneficial aspects of the vegetables, read this article from Shape magazine.  This will save money because you don't have to buy the vegetables in the steamer bags to get steamed veggies in the microwave.  We prepare peas, green beans, corn, carrots, and edamame like this.
One pound bag of peas from Wal-Mart


 4. Kroger Recipe beginnings - This is the perfect way to speed up a meal.  If you have these on hand, you don't have to waste time cutting up onion, green peppers, or anything else they offer.  I have started freezing onions and green peppers on my own, also.  If I need one onion, I will cut up another one to freeze.  I almost always have some frozen onions and green peppers when I need them.
Recipe beginnings from Dillions

5. Harvest meals - Beef and Pepperoni Calzones - They require preparation, but if you make them ahead of time they are fast.  I make the calzones ahead of time and freeze them individually with plastic wrap around them and then in a freezer bag or container.  When it is time to bake them, add five minutes to cook time and place them straight into the oven.  They are super easy to bake and yummy to eat!
Beef and Pepperoni Calzones straight out of the oven to bake

Do you have any additions to the list?  Comment and I will try them!

agronomygirl

My Life as a Farm Wife


Many people have asked me over the last six months, "what does a farm wife like yourself do throughout the day?"  The answer is a little bit of everything.  Some days I get the dreaded call to go get parts for Redbeard.  I don't like these calls, (as much as I enjoy parts runs) because it means something is broken.  Broken equipment means that the day's job is usually on hold, so I hurry off to the store.  

Three days a week I work in the farm office.  I help pay bills and make sure the office work is completed.  It is nice to be able to walk 15 steps to work and I enjoy the job.  It gives me something to do half of my mornings.

Redbeard would say my most important job is preparing meals for him.  The man loves to eat!  I must say I am not very good about planning meals ahead of time.  Mealtime decisions usually start with a look in the refrigerator and pantry to see what we have.  As I said in Harvest Meals, I like to just throw in random ingredients.  

And then there is laundry and dishes, not my favorite task, but I get them done.  I try to get our laundry done at least once a week.  Luckily, Redbeard has enough work clothes for a week!  Usually I clean all the laundry in one day.  That way I don't get too bored.  Occasionally he comes home with mud, grease, or unidentified (or at least I don't want to think about what it really is) stains on clothes.  This calls for an emergency load of laundry.

The most important part of my day is taking time for myself.  The hustle and bustle of farm life can be overwhelming at times, especially during harvest.  It seems that making harvest meals and spending every second I can with RB takes up my whole day.  I try to take walks and crochet when the housework gets boring or stressful.  Our driveway is exactly 0.75 miles if I walk down and back, so it is the perfect break from the housework.

 I have had to adjust to living over an hour from a Wal-Mart or Dillions.  It has been quite a difference from the 30 minutes I grew up from Manhattan and almost four years I lived in Manhattan.  Luckily, I watched how my mom would stock up on ingredients and then take the random items and make a masterpiece for supper.  I am definitely not up to her standard, but I hope to be one day.

Well, I guess you could say the life of a farm wife is a circle.  Everything I faced today will happen again tomorrow, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am blessed to call the farmer, my husband.

agronomygirl

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