No-grocery November: week 3

My kitchen helper

Edibles:

~ onions, peppers. homemade cheese, sausage, cherry tomatoes skillet
~ homemade macaroni and cheese with diced ham, peas, and using homemade cheese
~ creamed spinach with potatoes and cauliflower, tender pork roast, home canned applesauce
~ eggs or oatmeal for breakfast
~ tuna wraps
~ peanut butter blossom cookies (I had a bag of hershey kisses from the discount store packed away in a goodie bin.) (Yes, I store candy!)
~ storebrand frozen chicken tenders and fried cheese
~ blueberry scones
~ Mesquite dry-rubbed chicken slices, leftover stuffing, pan of sauteed onions/fried cheese/spaghetti squash.  Homecanned applesauce.  Canned green beans.
~ tomato soup and homemade bread
~ sirloin tip steaks, fried potatoes (homefries we call them around here), acorn squash and a hot vegetable side dish of pickled beets, green beans, sauteed onions topped with feta cheese
~ cinnamon raisin bread
~ pizza night! Three cheese, one with bacon and onion and one with bacon, onion, jalapeno
~ chorizo with peas and roasted vegetables (delicata squash, broccoli and cauli)
~ two batches of caramel ice cream with chocolate flecks (one sweetened with stevia, the other with sugar)
~ leftovers smattered throughout


Notes:

~ My 60% Ghirardelli chocolate chips are no more.  Who's DUMB idea was this no-grocery shopping thing anyway? 

~ I am running precariously close to being out of harvested mint for iced tea.  Someday I hope to harvest enough mint to never have to buy peppermint tea bags ever again.  (I make peppermint iced tea by the gallon and all year round).

~ Matt ran out of hot sauce so I made him a new batch from homegrown peppers, vinegar, garlic and some xantham gum.  (Too much xantham gum!  I ruined it and had to make a second batch.)

~ Made homemade ketchup (it's not the same.)

~ Cleaned out the pantry/dry goods/snack cupboard.  I discovered some nastiness in there (I'll spare you the gross details!) so I was glad to have deep cleaned it.  I also discovered one more container of stevia tucked way in the back- just what was needed since I ran out of my bag!  Good-for-you ice cream and sweet tea can still be in my life! yay!

~ Made bread and queso blanco, mozzerella, ricotta cheeses and butter

~ I've been grinding wheat berries to supplement the flour situation.  I discovered one gallon jar of them had been sitting so close to the freezer that it had been warmed and the condensation over months developed into mold.  Another gross find.  The chickens had a feast that day- an entire gallon of wheat berries!  Anything they don't eat, maybe will reseed their space?

~  I have gone to the grocery store three times so far this month to do errands for homebound neighbors.  A couple times to pick up some things for them and one time I took a neighbor so she could get everything she needed.  I say this only because I was tempted thrice so far this month (and once for 45 minutes straight of wandering around a grocery store!) to buy goodies and ruin the no-grocery challenge- but I didn't do it. That's determination, right there!