Food Pantry List

Last Saturday, Hubby went to our local Food Pantry and came back with these items:

• 1 loaf of smashed Wonder white bread (maybe I can make something with bread crumbs)
• 1 pkg of Hawaiian hamburger buns (I already have frozen whole wheat buns, so I threw these in the freezer as well)
• 1 pkg instant mashed potatoes (I guess I can look for a recipe to use this)
• 2 half-pint containers milk
• 2 pkgs of frozen, boned chicken thighs (we thawed out one pkg & it was spoiled- the wretched smell stayed in my nostrils for hours)
• 2 cans chicken
• 1 pkg shredded Iceberg lettuce (used it to top of the nachos I made on Saturday)
• 1 container Pico de Gallo (also used as a topping for the nachos)
• cans of beets (I'm the only one in the house that likes them)
• cans of corn (yay! ubiquitous corn)
• 2 small containers of Fage (my fave brand) Greek yogurt with honey
• 1 box Peanut Butter Bumpers breakfast cereal (oh, good, everyone else in the house consumes breakfast cereal day & night. I'm trying to get them to eat it only for breakfast since it's so expensive.)
• 1 bag white rice (yay!)
• 1 bag egg noodles (good)
• 1 box of flavored couscous
• 2 boxes of macaroni & cheese
• 1 frozen pkg of bologna (only I eat this)
• cans of pasta sauce
• 3 fresh tomatoes
• 1 bag of small potatoes (excellent! they look very good.)
• 1 turkey brining bag (ok, I can use this for Thanksgiving)
• brown eggs (yes!)
• strawberries
• overripe grapes (the bunny will be so happy!)
• chocolate chip shortbread
• Jasmine tea 

Slim pickings. This particular Food Pantry is beginning to run low on supplies for we usually get more than this. Oh, well. It is God that I look to for provision not a food pantry. 

I plan to soak some pinto beans tonight so I can cook them tomorrow. Then we can have beans, rice, and cornbread. Oh, yeah, I have that Kale that I got for 88 cents at HEB. I had originally bought it for the bunny since it was so cheap. But he turned his nose up on it so I used some of it in a beef stir-fry, which is a great way to stretch meat, and it was yummy! 

BEEF STIR FRY

1/2 bunch kale

1/4 C. oil

2 T. minced garlic

1 T. grated or minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 medium onion, halved then sliced
1/2 C. sliced white mushrooms

1-2 lb. round steak, thinly sliced

2 T. soy sauce

Salt & black pepper

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. Better Than Bouillon Beef Base

1) Blanch the kale for 2 mins. in a pot of boiling water. Rinse under cold water, spin it dry in salad spinner, and slice in 1" strips.

2) Pour 2 T. of oil in large, deep skillet over high heat. Swirl oil and add half of the garlic and ginger and all of the red pepper flakes. Stir a few times, then add the onion and mushrooms, and stir to evenly coat all onion with oil. After about a few minutes add the kale and cook for a few minutes more.

3)Lower the heat to medium and take out the vegetables. Pour T. of oil into the skillet and add the remaining garlic and ginger. Stir and add the beef, raise the heat to high and cook until browned.


4)Add the cooked vegetables to the pan and stir. Add the soy sauce, salt, pepper, water, and beef base. Cook and stir until the liquid is reduced some. Serve with rice.