Now on to today's menu, which is a bit different than normal. Last week we had quite a blizzard here in Springfield, dropping almost a foot and a half of snow on our little midwest city. As much as people may think we get a lot of snow every year, we usually only get about a foot for the whole year...total. So you can imagine what 18 inches at once did...school closings, business closing and a seriously stuck newlywed couple.
Our back deck. The wall on the right comes up to my mid-thigh. We got a few more inches after this picture.
Because of the snow I wasn't able to hit the stores in time to try out a new recipe, but wanted to give you all an idea of how we survived the snowstorm without going too crazy by eating the same thing over and over. When we went to the store before the storm we knew we had to get food that would stretch. Our last trip to Sam's prepared us without even realizing it because we had enough ground turkey, chicken and pork chops to definitely give us variety and last the week. We were able to have everything from broiled pork chops to baked spaghetti, and even paninis and wraps because of the few things we picked up at the store.
The last day we were stuck all I was craving was a pizza but the delivery service wasn't coming out to our house still because of the roads. I was a little bitter at first but after going out on the roads the next day I completely understood. I had reached the point where I didn't want to eat anything else we had...I had a craving and that's all I wanted. We've all been there! We went into the kitchen to come up with a creative way to put something together and there it was...the Bisquick box. Chris and I laugh often because we can make pretty much anything with Bisquick (we used it a few times last week for pancakes and waffles). Right there on the Bisquick box was a recipe for pizza crust! In the interest of full disclosure, it wasn't as fantastic as a nice crispy pizza crust, but it was great enough to soothe my cravings and give Chris and I a little pizza for dinner that night.
A few things we learned that we would like to pass on:
- Make sure to have 2 or more varieties of meats for dinner so you don't feel like you're eating chicken every night.
- Pasta goes a long way and there are a ton of ways to make it! We bought two different kinds of pasta for variety.
- Buy things you might not normally buy but you tend to crave (for us it was BBQ and pizza). Being stuck is tough enough, if you are getting sick of eating the same foods you "always eat" it makes it worse!
- Portion sizes! We eat small portions to begin with, so we always made leftovers. They made for great lunches later in the week and we still have some for lunches or dinners this week.
The one great thing about being stuck is realizing how much money we saved by not spending money on eating out. We were able to see how easy it is to throw meals together at home and had to eat what we had rather than going out and buying more food even if we didn't necessarily need it. It's a tip I know we will continue to use as time goes on.
Here's to hoping no one gets stuck in any more snow storms! But just in case, what are your tips for stocking up for great variety during snow storms? Any meals you HAVE to have while snowed in?
Hi Allison - loving your new blog! When we were snowed-in in Atlanta this month, I was in the same boat. I did great the first few days on what I had in the house, but by day 4, I desperately wanted some Greek food. Luckily, while I couldn't get out, the Zifty people could (a company in Atlanta the delivers food from any restaurant). I had my Greek - but spent way more on a Gyro than I should've. But it was worth it this one time.
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