Peach-topped Pancakes.

When I got my Angel Food Ministries Box, I knew I was going to have to use the peaches really fast!  

For Peach Topping:

1. Peel the peaches:  Score the bottom of peaches with an X mark.  Place them in a pot of boiling water for 40 seconds, then immediately put them in a bowl of ice water.  The peel will come off easily.

2.  Slice up peaches, add to a pan with some butter, brown sugar (you can omit this, I honestly think fruit is sweet enough without sugar) and cinnamon and nutmeg.  I just eyeball it.

3.  Simmer until peach topping is nice and tender!

Cook up your pancakes, and put peach topping on!  It tastes like Peach Cobbler for breakfast.

Zucchini Chicken and Tomato by Heather

Heather cooked up a lovely zucchini dish with chicken from the Bountiful Blessing Box and the veggies from Angel Food Ministries' Premium fruit and veggie box.  

You need:
Olive Oil (or other oil of your choice)
Zucchini and/or Squash
Minced Garlic
Can of Tomatoes (Heather used a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles)
Chicken Breast or Tender cut into strips.(We used ours still frozen!)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Put the olive oil in the pan and add garlic.  Let the garlic simmer so it infuses in the oil.  Add chicken and cook halfway.  Add the veggies and the can of tomatoes NOT drained.  Add a little salt and pepper.
Cover and cook a while.  We cooked for about 40 minutes since we added the chicken still frozen.

Heathers Notes: Those chicken strips were so tendered really awesome and im not just saying that!!

First Angel Food Dinner

This was our delivery day meal. We were starving and so we did something quick!



Sliced Chicken Breast, grilled in George Foreman Grill @ 375 for 8 minutes after seasoning with Emeril's seasoning.

Corn on the cob, placed in pot of water, heated until boiling.

I added two boil-in-bag White Shells in Cheese to the pot as soon as it started boiling.  I just guessed when they were done.

After dinner, my assistant chef baked up the break n bake cookies.

Heather's American Stir Fry

Heather cooked up this nice and easy meal for her family using Angel Food Ministries' food.

1 pkg mixed veggie, 1 bag brown rice and 1 lb hamburger all from the Bountiful Blessing Box.  You can add your favorite seasonings, or even wrap it in a tortilla with some cheese and salsa for a healthy, filling meal.

Heather's CHEAP Groceries from Angel Food Ministries

Angel Food Ministries 5 Bountiful Blessing Boxes $46 Each

    2 After-School Boxes $25 each

10 Pounds of Breaded Popcorn Chicken Special $16

Heather's cheap groceries from Angel Food Ministries!

Our Angel Food Ministries Loot!

Today, we picked up Angel Food Ministries' Bountiful Blessing and Premium Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box from the July order.  There were a couple of substitutions for things that were on the original menu, but I'm very pleased with what we got for $72 total.

Here's the breakdown of what we got:

1 Lean Cuisine Meal
1 Stouffer's Meal
2 packages boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 Fully Cooked Hamburgers on Buns
2 lb of chicken wings
1 Family-size lasagna
2 lb frozen Clam Chowder (I heard this was excellent)
1 large whole chicken
1 lb ground beef
1 lb Smoked Turkey meat
1 lb Bacon
1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage (4 sausages)
1 lb 100% ground chicken
4 bags boil-in-bag Shells & White Cheese
1 bag green beans
1 bag carrots
1 bag snap peas
1 bag spinach
1 bag mixed veggies
1 lb brown rice
Jiffy Pancake mix
Corn Muffin mix
Can of Baked Beans
32 oz box of milk
dozen eggs
and Break n Bake cookies

4 ears of corn (I'll be honest, 1 was rotten)
2 Yellow Squash
2 Zucchini
1 Cabbage
4 Onions
4 Baking potatoes
1 bag carrots
1 bunch celery
1 honeydew melon
1 cantaloupe
1 baby seedless watermelon
4 peaches (we're going to have to use them tonight)
3 oranges
4 lemons

We'll post Heather's loot in a bit!

Grocery Bill, Ouch!

Imagine my shock when I discovered that our July, 2011 grocery tab for our family of 6 was $943.    Ow, Charlie... that really hurts!

I firmly believe that you CAN eat better, more healthy food without breaking the bank, but  how?

I was discussing my food budget with my friend, Heather, and she suggested trying out Angel Food Ministries.  We were both intrigued by this nationwide service where you can buy $60 of food for only $30.  They are open to anyone, regardless of financial situation, in fact, they encourage everyone to participate because it increases their purchasing power!

I've decided to try a grand experiment:  buy some Angel Food boxes and use some pantry staples, with minimal "extras" from the grocery or dollar store, and see if we really can eat better for less money!

Tomorrow, I go to my local Angel Food site to pick up my boxes of food.  (I am also getting a box from a local food service called Mid America Foods to try out).  I will post a picture of what I got in my boxes of food and start meal planning.