Day 6 & 7 - Freezer Meals and Reflection 31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero Challenge

Day 6 - Freezer Meals

Planning freezer meals is the challenge for Day 6. This is something that I already practice. Freezer meal planning for me consist of making extra meals that freeze well while I am cooking our regular meals. There are many in depth freezer meal planning tutorials out there. Some are free and others charge a membership fee. 

I made a big pot of Red Beans and Rice. I served it up for lunch with leftover cornbread. I used frozen chicken thigh bones that had plenty of meat on them that I found in the freezer to make the base. It formed a rich stock. I will freeze the excess in meal sized portions. Viola, freezer meals. 

Sauteed onions, peppers and celery trio added layers of flavor to the pot.

I made this dish high in protein with small amounts of
chicken and ground chuck. The kidney beans also provide
added protein and fiber. 

Untraditional, but flavorful.

Day 7 - Reflection

It was bound to happen. We ran out of some items that we use regularly. We ran out of tortillas and homemade egg noodles. I finally found a really good and easy recipe for tortillas. I have tried numerous times to make tortillas that were soft and pliable. I have made different tortillas that were just okay, but none of them were up to my standards until now. 

No tortilla press needed.

Homegrown alfalfa sprouts and homemade humus 

Homemade refried beans, fermented Salsa Rojo, sprouts
cheese and red onions.

I found the tortilla recipe here: Rachel Cooks with Love -Tortillas     

The next item that I needed to make or make a substitution for was egg noodles. Making homemade pasta is a very simple task that only uses two ingredients. And since I had both on hand this issue was quickly solved. Fresh pastas are so much better than purchasing pasta from the store. Different noodle shapes can be cut from the same dough. I could have used my pasta maker attachment on my KitchenAid, but I decided to do it by hand to show how simple it is to do. Pasta can also be made in bulk quantities, dried and stored for up to a year. 

I let this dough rest for an hour. Allowing the dough to rest
makes rolling it out less of a challenge. 

Roll dough out as thin and even as possible.

Cut the dough into whatever kind of pasta you want. Squaring off
the edges would make the pasta more uniform, but I wasn't too
concerned about it for the dish I was making.

Stroganoff

Pasta Dough For 2

2 Eggs

1 Cup All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting

Incorporate eggs into flour using the well method and a fork until a ball is formed. Knead for at least 5 minutes until dough is soft and pliable. The dough will bounce back when pressed. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap to keep from drying out. Roll dough into a very thin rectangle. Cut into desired shapes using a pasta or pizza cutter. 

Cooking Instructions: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop pasta into the boiling water. Bring water back up to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Drain immediately.

Reflecting back on the first week of this challenge, I would say that it was normal. I wouldn't have done anything different except for when we were in town picking up the bare necessities for this challenge. I would have normally purchased our three-month stock up from Azure and Sam's Club from the city. We would have grabbed pizza slices from Sam's for lunch or enjoyed Taco Tuesday at Del Taco. I would have definitely grabbed fresh potatoes that I forgot to put on my list. 

The first week was easy. During the first week, there are still plenty of options. We will see what fun and excitement week 2 brings us. Until then, stay safe...

Mrs. Smith