It's Saturday, I've got 4 bunches of (74¢/bunch!!) broccoli, and 20 minutes....what to do??

 Broccoli is on sale!!!! my goodness, at 74¢ a bunch, who wouldn't buy 4? I know what you are thinking...what in the world are you going to do with that much broccoli? Seriously...

no, my kids aren't going to be pooping green...I have another plan.

now, i know you have seen them...those bags of frozen broccoli fleurettes and stems (which usually ends up being more stems than broccoli) for $3.50 a bag in your local grocery store. $3.50?! is it magic broccoli? will it make my kids love it? will it pay my mortgage. no...it's just broccoli. SO i make my own.

yeah, yeah, yeah...i've heard it before..."well it's nice if you have all day to do stuff like that". Zip it...it takes 20 minutes. and lets be honest...you spend 5x that much time on facebook a day, so let's not go there. all you have to do is cut the fleurettes off you broccoli, take the sad looking stem, peel it with a veggie peeler and cut that up too. get all your cut up broc in a strainer, wash it, put it in boiling, salted water till it turns bright green - which is about 10 seconds - take it out with a slotted spoon, place it on a wax paper lined cookie sheet, let it cool, put it in the freezer till frozen, transfer to bags and voila. done.

that wasn't so hard...was it? well, lets put it this way...i got 4x the amount that you get in that measly bag from the grocery store that you pay $3.50 for, for $3.00. that is what...80% savings? i don't know, i'm not good at math...i'm good at saving money on food.  :)

so, next time you see broccoli on sale, buy a whole lot, let your kitchen smell like broccoli for the afternoon, and have fresh, homemade frozen broccoli for all your broccoli cooking needs.

cheers.

the A,B,C's of cooking

ok, so, it's been a long, hard winter, and all i want to do is turn up the music, open all the windows, and dance around my kitchen, while cooking up a storm, and making the neighbourhood smell delectable. yes, i am that house...when you smell chocolate chip cookies while walking down my street...it's me. :)

so, now i have received a new idea. i actually got this idea from a magazine, in an article called 50 guilt free resolutions. they are all awesome, but one in particular caught my eye. # 15...Eat your way through the alphabet. so, for example, A could be Alaskan King Crab, or Angel food cake. B could be Bakalava, C could be Cream of mushroom soup or Coffee cake...you get the point. anyway, i thought this would be a fun way to mix things up, and maybe try things that i have never cooked before, or maybe it may be a fun way to get my kids to try something they have never tried before! here's hoping...not sure when the first letter will be...i'll keep you posted!

Fiesta Corn and Potato Chowder

Hey all! Ok, so i discovered a great little blog by a great little gal. she seems to love soup almost as much as i do, so i have to love her!! the blog is called "Poor Girl Eats Well", and I love her thrifty, yummy looking recipes!! unfortunately, living in niagara, i don't have access to the stores with the insanely cheap groceries, but none the less, her recipes look delish. most of them are vegetarian, although she says on her blog that she is an omnivore, but meat is too darn expensive. i agree...and am trying to eat more veggie my self, so this website is a blessing in so many ways!!

i tried one recipe this weekend, and was blown away!! it was so yummy!! so, instead of re-posting, i'll attach a photo (hers...not mine...although, mine looked exactly the same!!) and i'll have a link to her site and her recipe.
i hope you get a chance to try this out. it really is easy, cheap, and delightful!!

Link:
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2010/11/recipe-fiesta-corn-potato-chowder.html