{MONDAY'S MENU}

RETURNS!

Alright, so I haven't been cooking at all lately. Mostly because the hospital room doesn't come with a full kitchen, which is a shame because cafeteria food GETS OLD!

Last Friday I made a HUGE Costco run. Oh how I love Costco! And since I have an odd obsession with not being able to put groceries into an unbleached fridge or unorganized pantry...well, that is what I did on Saturday while Ryan made ANOTHER Costco run. Mostly for stuff at his office. However, there were a few goodies he grabbed for us. The "Cansolidator", that comes from [THIS] fabulous website (who knew you could find so much in powdered form?!), is also sold at Costco. Ryan grabbed me some of those {THANKS BABE}. He also grabbed me some sweet shelves for the kids toy room/nook, under the stairs. The inspiration for that comes directly from Tana! {THANKS TANA! I LOVE IT!}

While Ry and I organized the garage, where most of our food storage is, and the pantry we made BIG plans for better food storage and emergency preparedness.

One plan that I have heard of is to write everything your family eats for a month. Divide that list into Perishable and Non-Perishable. Find ways to substitute the Perishables. Multiply that list by 12 and there is your grocery list. Watch the sales and when you have everything on your list you have a practical one year food storage. HOWEVER, the hang up for me is writing down what everyone eats for one month. TEDIOUS! So, instead I will make a list of favorite snacks and using the Every Day Food Storage website (Check link on sidebar) and my recipe books I will come up with a 30 day menu. Then just continue with the other steps.

We have a pretty good start. In fact (And this is where we get back to the purpose of this post. Man you guys are patient!) while organizing I realized that I have plenty of stuff to make my favorite recipe for Taco Soup. I did find (OK, Ryan pointed it out) that I didn't have tortilla chips. Note to self, Ryan thinks Taco Soup is pointless without "Scoops" chips. NOTED! Lucky for us we invited the Singleton's {THANKS FOR SUBJECTING YOURSELVES TO HOURS OF "GEEK" GAMES, Wii & LINDSTROM'S. OH HOW WE LIKE YOU!} over and they had some chips. Lucky Ryan!

So yesterday for dinner I made Taco Soup. It was really good. However, I think the spinach salad stole the show. There is just nothing like fresh Spinach, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Yellow & Orange Peppers & Carrots all tossed together to make your heart sing!

So I will likely be posting a few Food Storage type meals. Just to show you, and me, how easy this whole food storage stuff can be.

TACO SOUP
(is there anything better than snow outside and steaming soup in a pot inside?! I didn't think so.)

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. Ground Beef or Turkey (I used Turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
(2) 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (I toss these in the blender to smooth them out a bit. Call me a tomato hater...I don't mind!)
1 package Taco Seasoning
2 cans Pinto Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can chopped green chillies
1 can (15 oz) Chicken or Beef Broth
1 can corn

TOPPINGS:
Sour Cream
Green Onions
Olives
Cheese
Guacamole
SCOOPS TORTILLA CHIPS

DIRECTIONS:
Brown meat with onion and garlic in a large soup pot. Drain fat off completely. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through. Serve with any or all toppings. Whatever you want!