A Weekend Full of Activity

So this past weekend was full of activity.  Saturday morning, Dennis (my husband) and I woke up at 5 am to drive to San Antonio. We went to pick up an order from Bountiful Baskets and do some other shopping including visiting Sprouts, Ccostco, Trader Joes and the commissary at Fort Sam Houston.  From Bountiful Baskets, we ordered 2 regular baskets, 50 pounds of potatoes and over 70 pounds of Gala apples.  The potatoes we are going to can.  The apples we are going to can after making applesauce.  Although this is only our second time going to Bountiful Baskets, I am thrilled with what we received.

Then we went to Sprouts where we bought cabbages, lemons, limes, watermelons,  cous cous, wild rice, red lentils and more.  All in all, I am really pleased with what we found there.  We plan on making sauerkraut with the cabbages.

From there we went to Costco, where we purchased, bottled water, sugar, a 10 pound bag of carrots chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks, rotel tomatoes.

Then we went to Trader Joes where we bought several plants including dill, thyme, mint, and cilantro along with some cookies for our children and more.

From there we went to the commissary at Fort Sam Houston where our main purchase was blocks of Kraft chedder and colby jack cheese because we save money buying it there.  Also, it is lactose-free which is terrific.

Once we were done at the commissary, we drove the two-hours back to Victoria and unloaded the van with the help of our children.  Here is what our table looked like:

Of course, this represents only a fraction of what we actually brought home.  Once we had everything unloaded and somewhat situated, we proceeded to fix the necessary items for our band concert.  Once the food was finished, we dressed and loaded everything that needed to go with us – food, instruments, music stands and of course – us.

Here are some pictures from the concert:

And here are some more pictures:

And some final pictures from the concert and of the reception afterwards.  All in all it was a great evening.

Then on Sunday we had graduation festivities at the church for our second son.  Stay tuned on Wednesday to read more about that.

So what has been going on in your world?  I would love to hear from you.  If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew are writing about this week, click here or on the graphic below.

Tasty Tuesday’s – March 20, 2018

This past week, I discovered an amazing place to buy fresh produce. It is called Bountiful Baskets. Unfortunately, it is not available everywhere, in fact, we had to drive two hours to San Antonio, which is the closest site to us. Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op where people pay a contribution fee for a basket or can pay more for certified organic.

We decided to purchase one regular basket along with several of the additional offerings, We purchased 50 pounds of potatoes, an herb basket, and a St, Patrick’s Day basket. With those, we received carrots, celery, potatoes, kale, a butternut squash, cabbage, pears, and even two grapefruits,

 

I wish I had taken pictures of everything, but that did not happen. However, I know we will participate again and I will be sure to take pictures and share with you all.  Here is one picture of some of the produce we got including the box of potatoes, the herb basket and the St. Patrick’s Day basket.

Here is a picture of the potatoes. We were very pleased with the quality of our food.

Also, this weekend, my husband and I discovered a new place to eat called Zoe’s Kitchen that serves a blend of Mediterranean and Southern food combined. I had their steak stack sandwich with a Greek salad. Dennis, my husband, had the steak stack and their marinated slaw. The food was fresh, flavorful and very satisfying.

So what have you been eating?  I would love to hear from you.

If you would like to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew have to say this week, click here or on the graphic below.

 

The Week of 4th of July

For those of us here in the United States, this week brought the 4th of July – Independence Day.  And one of our family’s favorite things to do at this time of the year used to be putting up corn each year.  When we lived in North Carolina, it was a family and friends event.  We typically put up around 5 bushels for just our family.  So this week, it was rather bittersweet to see my sister-in-law post pictures on Facebook of them putting up corn.

However, since we moved to Texas in March 2016, putting up food has become a wishful occupation.  We so want to put up food because we really enjoy it, but we have neither space or places to find produce to buy in bulk.

When we lived in the central part of Pennsylvania from summer of 2012 until March of 2016, we were blessed to have Amish farms to buy produce from in bulk.  The quality was amazing and the prices were extremely affordable.

Here are some pictures of us putting up corn in Pennsylvania.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the rows of jars on the shelves or bags full of produce in our freezer ready for us to eat in the future.

Here are some pictures of our shelves in Pennsylvania with items we were getting ready to put up or had already put up.

I think one of my favorite things to put up know is homemade sauerkraut.  The flavors are just so amazing.

So what does summer bring for your family?